Chris Luther

A three pointer by Hanover College's Taylor Dials with 19 seconds left in the regulation helped lift the Panthers to a 77-74 victory over the Denison Big Red on the final day of the Sodexo Classic in Granville, Ohio.

The two teams played tough early in the contest as neither squad could gain a huge advantage on the other. With the score knotted at 10-10, Hanover pieced together a 19-5 run to build up their largest lead of the half. The burst featured eight points by Mike Case and four tallies from Mitchell Meyers. Facing the 14 point deficit with 5:24 left in the half, the Big Red slowly worked their way back into the contest and eventually trimmed the margin to six (41-35) on a jumper in the paint by senior Pat Sullivan (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland) as time expired in the first frame.

In the second frame DU was able to keep the Panthers advantage within 10 points to set up their second-half come back. Down 69-66 with 2:17 left in regulation, sophomore Larry Farmer (Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township) sank a pair of free throws to cut Hanover's lead to just one. The Panthers answered back in their next possession when Meyer drained a three to make it a four-point affair. Farmer took the game into his own hands when he hit back-to-back layups to tie the game up at 72-all with 1:03 left in the contest. Denison took its first lead of the game since 13:37 in the first when junior Chris Luther (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) hit two free throws which gave the Big Red a 74-72 lead.

However, with 19 ticks left on the clock Dials hit a three-pointer from the corner to regain the lead for Hanover. Following a missed three by DU, Meyer hit two foul shots with two seconds left to extended the Panthers lead to 77-74. A last second heave was right of the rim as Denison dropped their second contest of the year.

Luther led the offensive assault for the Big Red with 20 points while Farmer and senior Jeremy Stuhlfauth (Columbus, Ohio/Whetstone) each chipped in 11 tallies. Farmer also grabbed a team-high seven boards.

Hanover was paced by Case and Meyer who both recorded double-doubles. Case finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds while Meyer had 15 tallies and 12 boards. Jake Inman and Dane Coats also dropped 11 each to aid the Panther offense.

Luther and Sullivan were both named to the all-tournament team for the Big Red while Goshen's Errick McCollum  was the tournament's MVP.

The Big Red (0-2) return to action on Tuesday (Nov. 25) when they host Case Western Reserve. Tip-off at Livingston Gymnasium is scheduled for 7 p.m.