Muchmore leads charge against Earlham

Hanover College’s men’s basketball team raised its record to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference with a 77-68 victory against Earlham College in Collier Arena.

Freshman center Corey Muchmore (Cincinnati, Ohio) scored a season-high 18 points off the bench, while junior guard Kyle James (Indianapolis, Ind.) had 12 points and sophomore swingman Matt Wehner (Pendleton, Ind.) added 11 to lead the Panthers.

Chris Holmes poured in a game-high 28 points and Jack O’Flaherty chipped in 16 to pace Earlham, which dipped to 2-6 overall and 1-2 in the Heartland Conference.

The Quakers jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the opening three minutes and led 15-7 after a Holmes three-pointer with 14 minutes to play in the half.

Muchmore scored from point-blank range to trigger a 7-0 run which pulled Hanover within 15-14 at the 11:28 mark. The Panthers would eventually grab a 20-19 lead eight minutes before the break.

Earlham remained with two possessions the rest of the period and led 33-31 before James ripped a three-pointer and junior guard Tim Bass (Indianapolis, Ind.) earned a three-point play at the buzzer to nudge Hanover ahead 37-33.

Leading 37-34 two minutes into the second frame, the Panthers mounted 17-3 run through the next three and one-half minutes to build a 54-37 cushion. Muchmore had three buckets and Wehner landed a shot from beyond the arc to fuel the burst.

The Quakers, behind 10 points by Homes, outscored Hanover 19-8 in the following seven minutes to creep within six points (62-56) with just 6:25 remaining in the clash.

Wehner drilled a trey from the baseline to bump the cushion to 65-56 with five minutes left and the Panthers eventually built a 71-59 lead with 2:34 to go.

Earlham would get no closer than nine points down the stretch.

Hanover finished the outing 31-of-74 from the field (41.9%), but hit just 6-of-28 three-point attempts (21.4%).

The Panthers earned a 50-27 advantage on the boards, including 23 offensive rebounds.

Junior pivot Desmond Marks (Bloomington, Ind.) pulled down a game-high nine boards, while Muchmore and sophomore forward Michael Van Kleunen (Mason, Ohio) had eight apiece.

Hanover vs. Earlham statistics