Denison's last-second chance to tie the game rimmed out as Hanover College left Granville with a 64-62 decision over the Big Red on Saturday afternoon from Livingston Gymnasium.

The dog fight that was the first period ended very well for DU.  Trailing by a pair, senior post Marr Mansfield scored to tie the game at 30-30.  Senior Casey Stockton drained a fast-break three-point and junior Dimonde Hale sank a buzzer beater to put the Big Red on top 35-30 as the two squads entered the locker room.

Two quick buckets by Mansfield to start the second half sparked an 11-2 run over the opening four minutes and 20 seconds.  The surge put Denison on top by 14 points, its largest lead of the afternoon.

On the verge of falling into an insurmountable hole, Hanover's Drake Hendricks and Ryan Nowicki fueled a 15-point Panther run.  Hendricks scored eight-straight points, while Nowicki knocked down a big three and scored a layup in the paint to trim the deficit to one.  The comeback was capped off by a pair of Mike Case free throws that put the Panthers back on top 47-46.

At 10:08, senior Larry Farmer ended DU's 5:32 scoring drought with a layup that put the Big Red ahead by one.  After Case and Farmer exchanged buckets, Denison maintained a 50-49 lead.

All square at 57-57, Hanover rattled off five-consecutive tallies to regain a the lead with 3:45 remaining in regulation.  Senior point guard Jim Leffew closed the gap with a big triple off an assist from Hale.  Following buckets by Jacob Rieger and Alex Longi, the Panthers entered the final minute of play with a 64-62 edge.

Coming out of a Hanover timeout with 19 seconds to go, Mansfield stepped in front of a Rieger inbounds pass, giving the Big Red one more chance to tie or win the contest.  Following a DU stoppage, Hale put up a jumper in the paint with four seconds on the clock that rimmed out and fell into the hands of Case.

The Big Red shot a 41 percent clip (26-for-64) from the field, including 44 percent (7-for-16) from three-point range.  Hanover hit 52 percent (27-for-52) from the floor, including a blistering 61 percent (14-for-23) in the second frame.  The Panthers held a 36-31 edge in rebounding and got 38 points in the paint, compared to 32 by DU.  Denison generated 10 points off 12 turnovers, while allowing only four tallies on six giveaways.

Hale finished the day with a game-best 16 points to go along with six assists and five rebounds.  Farmer logged 12 points, nine rebounds and four blocks in 33 minutes of action.  Leffew chipped in nine points and two assists, while Brett Tiberi had eight tallies in 15 minutes off the bench.

Hendricks paced the Panthers with 15 points and five rebounds, while Case had 14 tallies and six boards.  Nowicki also scored 11 points, while Desmond Marks pulled down six rebounds.

The loss drops Denison to 0-2 on the year, while Hanover improves to 2-0.  The Big Red returns to the hardwood on Sunday (Nov. 20) when they host Earlham College at 3 p.m.