Posted: Jan 06, 2010
January 6, 2010
By: Josh Bruner, sports information assistant
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Beavers came out of the gates slowly, trailing 17-7 early, but they managed to pull within four (31-27) at the half thanks to a 10-3 run over the final 3:34. The Panthers clutch free throw shooting sealed the victory as they hit 6-of-7 in the last minute of play for a 63-57 win in Founders Hall on Wednesday, January 6, 2010. The loss dropped the Beavers to 0-14, 0-5 in the HCAC, while the Panthers moved to 6-7 overall and 3-2 in the HCAC.
The game started off slowly for both squads as neither team graced the scoreboard during the first three minutes. Hanover's JAKE INMAN finally broke the ice with an and one to give the Panthers a 3-0 lead. The Beavers quickly responded with a TYLER BRAIDIC (Pandora-Gilboa) three-pointer to tie the game. After the Panthers went up by five early on, senior JOSH EICHAR (North Baltimore) added a layup to pull Bluffton within three.
The Beavers dug a 17-7 hole with seven minutes of play left in the half before the dry spell ended with a MYCHAL HILL (London/Jon. Alder) triple followed by JOSH FISHER'S(Rockford/Parkway) layup. The Panthers once again showed their strength as they pushed ahead by 11 with three and a half minutes remaining in the half. The Beavers made a run in the last two minutes of the period as they cut the deficit to four (31-27) thanks to buckets by Hill, Fisher and Eichar.
The Panthers came out of the break ready to shoot as they pulled ahead by seven with a RYAN NOWICKI three-pointer. BRENT FARLEY (Lima/Shawnee) responded with a jumper on the other end to bring it back within five after just one minute. The Panther defense proved strong, as they went on a 7-0 run over the next seven minutes, making it 41-29 with 12 minutes left to play.
The Beavers responded to the run with a NICK LEE (Mt. Blanchard/Vanlue) trifecta to make it a nine-point game. The Beavers then put together a nice rally, outscoring the Panthers 8-3 over the next three minutes, finished off by a SCOTT SCHNIPKE (Kalida) three which made it 44-40 at the 6:16 mark.
The Panthers slowly started to pull away from the Beavers as they opened up a nine-point lead with just over three minutes to play following a MITCHELL MEYER jumper. The Beavers answered with another Fisher layup before Meyer once again connected to keep the lead at nine with just over a minute left. Josh Eichar pulled the Beavers within striking distance (57-51) thanks to a three-pointer with one minute remaining.
The Beavers cut it to four with just 39 seconds remaining after four Fisher points. Bluffton forced another turnover and trimmed it to two with a Schnipke jumper, but the Panthers proved to be clutch as they hit four straight at the stripe to ensure a 63-57 victory.
Leading the Beaver offense was the freshmen tandem of Scott Schnipke and Josh Fisher. Schnipke dropped in a career-high 12, going 5-of-8 from the field and 2-of-4 from behind the arc. Fisher and Nick Lee added 11 points apiece. Eichar chipped in with 10 and Hill scored eight. Farley led the team with seven boards. The Beavers finished the game 21-of-54 (38.9 percent) from the field, 9-for-23 (39.1 percent) from distance and 6-of-8 at the charity stripe.
The Panther offense was led by Meyer and Nowicki who both tallied 16. Inman was close behind with 12. TAYLOR DIAL also added eight for the Panthers. Hanover ended the game 23-of-51 (45.1 percent) from the field, 6-of-14 (42.9 percent) from behind the arc and 11-of-14 (78.6 percent) from the line.
The Beavers will be back in action Saturday, January 9, when they travel to Rose-Hulman. The contest is slated to start at 3 p.m.
-BEAVERS-