Anderson Falls to Hanover in HCAC Opener

The Anderson University men's basketball team (4-2, 0-1) fell to Hanover College (4-0, 1-0) by a score of 67-52 during Wednesday's Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) opener in Hanover.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Hanover jumped out to a 10-0 lead during the first 3 minutes, 7 seconds. Matt Munoz drained two 3-pointers during the run.
• The Ravens then kept the Panthers off the board for the next five minutes. Anderson contributed a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 10-7.
• Both teams spent five minutes separated by no more than four points. Fred Shropshire knocked down a 3-pointer to cut Hanover's lead to 18-17 with 5:55 left in the half.
• After Hanover went up by four, Shropshire hit another 3-pointer with 4:02 to go in the half.
• Hanover closed out the half with an 8-3 run to enter halftime with a 30-24 lead.
• As Anderson trailed 41-31 in the second half, Maurice Knight scored the next eight points, bringing the Ravens deficit to 41-39.
• Hanover held a 55-49 lead with 6:17 left, then created a 10-0 run during the 4:31 to go up by 16.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Ravens finished -10 on turnovers, committing 21 turnovers in comparison to Hanover's 11.
• Hanover held a 13-4 advantage in second-chance points.
• Maurice Knight led the Ravens with 25 points.
• Fred Shropshire provided eight points for the Ravens.
• Francis Uzorh contributed team-highs of eight rebounds and two blocks.

COACH OWEN HANDY'S COMMENTS

• First, my hat's off to Hanover. They played well and out-executed us down the stretch of the game. They got the shots they wanted and were able to take away many of the things we wanted to do on offense.
• We dug ourselves a hole early, and fought really hard to get back into it. Overall, I thought we played quite well for the middle 20 minutes or so of the game.
• There are some things you simply can't do and beat a good team on the road. Turning the ball over 21 times is one of them. Giving up 13 second chance points is another one. A third is allowing their two forwards to shoot 14/15 from the floor. We consistently permitted easy catches to their bigs and they made us pay for it all evening.
• Maurice Knight was fantastic for us. His ability to consistently produce at a high level is really impressive. He is a joy to coach.

UP NEXT

Anderson battles Mount St. Joseph University (3-2) in HCAC action on Saturday at 4 p.m. in Cincinnati.