HANOVER, Ind.—The Transylvania University men's basketball team dropped a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference road game on Wednesday night to Hanover College by a score of 77-49.

In the opening three minutes of the game, the Pioneers jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead. After Hanover missed a jump shot on the opening possession, junior forward Parker Stansberry corralled the defensive rebound and on the ensuing possession, freshman guard Sam Sergeant nailed a jumper to give Transy the first points of the game.

The Pioneers' Dillion Pulliam, a freshman guard, forced a steal on the next Hanover possession. Ten seconds later, Stansberry converted a layup on a pass from freshman guard Tristan Burgess, giving Transylvania a 4-0 lead. After several missed Hanover field goal attempts, Burgess would snatch a rebound and knock down a three-pointer to cap the Pioneer run.

Transy would go cold over the next five minutes, however, as they failed to score over the next six minutes. Hanover would capitalize on the Pioneers' offensive woes and go on an 11-0 run to take an 11-7 lead with 12:02 remaining. A two-point jumper from sophomore guard Alex Jones would halt the Panther run and bring the score to 11-9 with 11:40 left in the opening period. After a three from Sergeant and another jumper from Jones, the Pioneers took a 14-13 lead at the ten minute mark.

Hanover would capitalize on several Transy turnovers and missed shots over the next four minutes, going on a 15-2 run and taking a 28-16 lead with 5:43 left in the first period, forcing a timeout from Transylvania head coach Brian Lane. Out of the timeout, Hanover would expand their lead to fifteen before Stansberry made a jump shot from the paint to stop the Hanover run and make the score 31-18 with 4:14 remaining. After Hanover made one of two free throws, Transy would come down the court and Sergeant would convert a three-point attempt, converting a Stansberry assist.

The Panthers would close the half on another run, outscoring the Pioneers 7-0 over the final four minutes of the first half, sending Transylvania to the locker room down 39-21. Sergeant led the Pioneers in scoring in the opening period with eight points, while Stansberry and Jones added four. Despite shooting 43% from the field in the period and holding Hanover to 42%, nine Pioneer turnovers gave Hanover extra offensive opportunities and allowed them to take an 18-point lead into halftime.

In the second half, the Pioneers were unable to cut into the Hanover lead. After trailing by 18 at half, the Panthers lead swelled to 24 with 17:18 remaining and the Pioneers struggled offensively.

Transylvania fell behind 46-23 after missing their first three field goal attempts of the half and Hanover pushed their lead to 23 with just under 18 minutes left in the game. The lead would remain there for several minutes as the Pioneers struggled to convert a basket until freshman guard Isaiah Pollard brought the score to 49-29 with 15 minutes left.  

The game would remain in a holding pattern as both teams struggled from the field over the next five minutes but at the 10 minute mark, Hanover held onto a 55-36 lead after freshman forward Tim Bickel scored baskets in the paint on two consecutive possessions to narrow the deficit. After Hanover made a free throw on their next possession, Bickel was fouled and made both free throw attempts to cut into the Panther lead. At the 4:41 mark, the Panthers held onto a 65-42 lead. Hanover would outscore the Pioneers 12-7 over the final five minutes of play to take the victory, 77-49.

Sergeant led Transy in scoring with 10 as the only Pioneer to score in double figures in the game. The team shot 33% from the field in the game while Hanover was able to mount an offensive performance that saw them make 44% of their field goal attempts. A handful of Pioneers recorded two rebounds apiece, but Hanover yanked down 46 boards, including 15 offensive, which limited the Pioneers to few second chance opportunities.

The loss takes Transylvania to 4-8 on the season and 1-4 in HCAC play. They will return to play on Saturday, Jan. 10 in a home matchup against Manchester University (2-10, 1-4 HCAC) at 3PM.