By: Colton Steiner

HANOVER, Ind. - The Bluffton Beavers opened up the new year with a road conference contest against the Hanover Panthers. An even

Both teams would start the game by going back and forth, with Matt Ray (Indianapolis, Ind. / Herron) nailing a three to cut the Beavers deficit to one with 13:18 left in the first half. The one possession game would be short lived, as Hanover would go on a 7-0 run to lead 19-11 until back-to-back layups from Bluffton made it a four point game with under ten to play in the half. The Panthers managed to hold a six point lead until Justice Thompson (Ashland, Ohio / Crestview) connected on a shot from behind the arc, bringing the score to 28-25 in favor of the home team with 6:57 left tin the half. Hanover would get a jumper, but yet another triple from Justice Thompson brought the game within two just a minute later. The Panters would answer, going on an 14-5 run to lead 44-33 until a Nevin Robson (Kenton, Ohio / Hardin Northern) layup with 2:08 to play in the half made the deficit nine. The Beavers would score three more points to close out the half as they would trail 44-38 at the break. 

Going into the second half, the Panthers opened up the first four minutes, outscoring the Beavers 14-7 to hold a 59-45 lead with 15:46 left in regulation. Bluffton had managed to get back-to-back layups from JD Stokes (West Harrison, Ind. / Franklin County) and Andre Irvin (Lewis Center, Ohio / Olentangy Orange) to bring the dificit to 10, but an and-one bucket from Hanover put the home team back up 13. Hanover managed to keep a strong double-digit lead until layups from JD Stokes, Nevin Robson, and Andre Irvin brought the Beavers within seven to make the deficit 81-74 with 5:26 left in regulation. Despite cutting the lead to single digits, the Panthers would respond and extend their lead to 11 following a made layup to lead 92-81 with 3:19 remaining. Bluffton would be unable to gain much ground as a late layup from Andre Irvin would put the final score at 97-88 in favor of the home team as the Beavers would drop their first contest of 2026. 

Pacing Bluffton with 19 points and dishing out a team-high six assists was Andre Irvin, with Ian Snelling (Erlanger, Ky. / Dixie Heights) dropping his sixth career double-double as he scored 14 and snagged 12 boards. Also scoring in double digits was Nevin Robson with 16 and seven rebounds, and Justice Thompson tallying 14 off the bench. 

Hanover would dominate from the field, hitting an impressive 59.6 percent (34-of-57) of their shots from the field, including a staggering 14-of-25 (56 percent) from behind the arc. The Beavers only managed to connect on 32-of-73 (43.8 percent) of their shots from the floor and would go 6-of-21 (28.6 percent) from three. Despite the shooting differential, the Beavers were all over the glass, winning the rebound battle 38-34, with a 17-6 advantage on the offensive board. Bluffton did push the pace, holding a 12-3 edge in fast break points, while also outscoring the Panthers 30-15 in bench points. 

The Beavers will be back on the road on Wednesday, Jan. 7 when they visit the Anderson Ravens, with tipoff set for 7:30 p.m. 

-Beavers-