Hanover College fended off the Anderson University men's basketball team with a 66-53 victory during Wednesday's Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) matchup in O.C. Lewis Gymnasium.
The Panthers (12-4, 6-3) moved into second place outright in the HCAC standings with the win.
"My hats off to Hanover," Coach Owen Handy said. "They came into our place [on Wednesday] and they were tougher and executed for 40 minutes. They consistently got the ball where they wanted it to go on offense, and kept us from doing what we wanted to do."
Hanover finished with a 13-4 advantage on assists.
"We have a chance to be a good team when we share the ball on offense, we did not do that very well [on Wednesday]. Especially against a team that plays defensive gaps the way Hanover does, and we finished with four assists on 22 made baskets."
Anderson (8-8, 5-4) converted 22-of-52 (42.3 percent) shots from the field and 2-of-13 (15.4 percent) attempts from 3-point range. Hanover hit 22-of-58 (37.9 percent) attempts from the floor and 4-of-14 (28.6 percent) shots from the perimeter.
The Panthers knocked down 18-of-24 (75 percent) shots from the free-throw line while the Ravens made 7-of-11 (63.6 percent) attempts from the charity stripe.
Malik Laffoon led the Ravens with 18 points. The 6-foot-2 senior guard from Bloomington also blocked three shots. Ronny Williams scored 12 points. Maurice Knight notched eight points, four blocks and three steals. Larry Johnson and Jalen Johnson each turned in five points. Michael Rogers and Tate Cooper provided two points apiece. Jake Gudorf rounded out Anderson's scoring with one point.
The Ravens battle Transylvania University (9-7, 5-4) in HCAC action on Saturday at 5 p.m. in Lexington, Ky.
