MOUNT BERRY, Ga. - The Vikings finished their homestand against the Hanover College Panthers with a loss, the final score 82-65.
The Vikings secured the tip to get the game going. Canon Armstead came out hot, scoring a three and getting an and-one opportunity to help the Vikings score nine points unanswered as the game got going, leading to a break called for by the Panthers.
Leaving the timeout, the Panthers responded, stealing back the momentum to bring themselves back within a point after going on an 8-0 run, prompting another break.
The Panthers officially put themselves ahead coming out of the break after forcing a turnover and capitalizing on the other end.
On the wrong end of a 10-0 run, Issac Plavich took over off the bench and gave the Vikings some much-needed offense, doing it himself and scoring eight straight to keep the Vikings close.
The Vikings and the Panthers battled down the stretch; neither team allowing the other to gain much of a lead against the other. The Panthers seemed to have an advantage as half came to a close. Despite the hot start, the Vikings found themselves down at the break with the Panthers ahead 35-34.
Hanover opened the second half with possession of the ball. They took their turn to get out to a hot start, scoring nine unanswered points and stretching the lead to a game-high of eleven points. Ryan Lutrell had the first bucket for Berry, shrinking the lead back within single digits after
Mason Lawrence found him on the perimeter for a three.
Cameron Pope was a bright spot in a struggling Berry offense in the second half, forcing himself downhill, trying to get things rolling from in the paint. Despite the effort, the Vikings couldn't bring themselves within six as the half continued.
Trailing by double digits with five minutes to go in the half, the Vikings didn't have a comeback in them, and the Panthers kept it in their favor to win it 82-65.
The Vikings look to put this loss behind them as they head down to Atlanta to take on their first conference opponent, the Stormy Petrels of Oglethorpe University, on Wednesday, December 3, at 8:00 p.m.
