Turnovers, second-chance baskets, and missed free throws plagued Wabash for the second consecutive game, leading to a 85-58 defeat at the hands of the fourth-ranked Hanover Panthers on Tuesday night.
After hitting just 7-of-17 free throws on Saturday against Olivet Nazarene, the Little Giants would manage to hit just 2-of-16 free tosses. Only Zeljko Gavranovic (Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina/St. Mary’s) found any luck from the stripe, connecting on 2-of-4 from the charity stripe. Wabash was also outrebounded 29-39. Hanover used that advantage on the boards to score 15 second-chance points in the contest to only 10 for Wabash. The Little Giants also committed 21 turnovers in the contest that led to 26 points by Hanover.
Wabash took an early 7-5 lead, but saw the Panthers take over midway through the first half, taking a 12-point lead. The Little Giants clawed their way back into the game, cutting the Hanover lead to two points on back-to-back layups by Gavranovic. The Panthers responded with a three-pointer by Matt Moore and free throws to take the lead into the locker room at halftime.
The Little Giants trailed 33-27 at the half. But Wabash committed two turnovers and missed two three-point shots to start the second half. The Panthers took advantage, scoring 11 unanswered points to push the lead back up to double digits. Chris Waters (Gary, IN/Calumet) ended the scoring drought for the Little Giants with a driving layup from the left side of the lane with 16 minutes left in the period.
The basket continued to have a lid on it in the second period for Wabash. Hanover, however, continued to score, jumping out to a 55-33 before Gavranovic hit the first free throw of the game for Wabash after hitting a layup inside. The Panthers answered the Little Giants’ three-point play by Gavranovic with a four-point play when Moore was fouled while hitting a trey. He stepped to the line and hit the free throw to increase the Hanover lead.
Back-to-back three pointers by Storm, Kyle Medeiros (Indianapolis, IN/Ben Davis) and David Wagner (Belleville, IL/Belleville) and a rebound basket by Gavranovic cut the Hanover lead to 18. But the Little Giants continued to trade baskets with Hanover from the 10-minute mark on, unable to trim the lead below 17 points.
Senior Matt Storm (Anderson, IN/Lapel) led Wabash in scoring with 12 points. Gavranovic added 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his second career double-double. Four Panthers scored in double figures, led by Ben Lye and Moore each scoring 16. Ryan Lanning tossed in 15 points and Thad McCracken had 11.