Lexington, Ky. – Michael Jefferson hit a game-winning runner with two seconds left to lift the Transylvania men's basketball team to a 76-75 victory over the Hanover College Panthers in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament semifinal on Saturday afternoon at the Beck Center.
Jefferson's carving layup pushed the Pioneers into their third consecutive HCAC Tournament Championship appearance to cap off a dramatic afternoon with a plethora of lead changes and momentum swings in an unpredictable second half.
Led by two clutch baskets from Jefferson and a key backcourt steal, the Pioneers erased a four point deficit with a minute to go to ensure the photo finish.
Transylvania now moves on to face Franklin or Manchester in the 2021 HCAC Championship game scheduled for March 10 or March 11.
Jefferson's game-winning basket punctuated another virtuoso performance with 22 points, five rebounds, and a game-high four assists. The senior was aided by fellow senior Lucas Gentry, who put forth his sixth double-double of the season with a game-high 26 points and 10 rebounds, hitting 11 of 20 field goals and 2 of 5 three-point shots.
Hanover opened up a 17-7 lead in the first seven minutes of Saturday's semifinal with a flurry of inside scoring. Jefferson quickly asserted his will by scoring on back-to-back three-point plays as he shaved Hanover's lead to 17-13.
The Pioneers kept up the momentum and the comeback effort by registering three and-ones within a three minute stretch. Gentry scored on a layup to eventually knot up the game at 23-23 with 7:30 remaining in the first half.
After Jefferson buried a threeball to tie the game at 26-26 with five minutes left in the half, Hanover responded with a 9-0 run to go back in front. The Pioneers went 8 for 10 from the charity stripe in the first half to stay within reach of the Panthers, who shot 62 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes, to trail 37-31 at the half.
The Panthers expanded their lead back to eight points at 48-40 with 14:36 in the second half before the Pioneers reignited their offense. Zach Larimore struck inside and hit a three-point bucket on consecutive possessions. Gentry followed with two straight inside scores and Will Sivills hit a three-pointer from the right wing to cap off a 12-0 run by Transylvania, turning the contest on its heels.
Transy and Hanover jousted tightly throughout the rest of regulation and Gentry appeared to launch the Pioneers into the championship game with 3:29 remaining in the second half on a triple to hand Transylvania a 67-62 advantage.
Hanover rose to the occasion with a 10-1 run as the Pioneers went cold. Panthers guard Noah Williams hit a key midrange jumper with 1:01 left in the game to give the Panthers a promising 72-68 lead.
Jefferson quickly attacked the rim the other way and drew a foul, splitting a pair of free throws in the process to slice Hanover's lead back down to three points.
With Transylvania in desperate need of a stop, Jack Patton forced a Panther turnover in the backcourt just seconds later to return possession to Transylvania. Gentry punched life back into Transylvania on a layup with 37 seconds left to cut Hanover's lead back to 72-71.
The Pioneers quickly fouled the Panthers and Williams went 1 for 2 from the line to raise the Hanover lead back to two points with a half-minute to go.
Jefferson provided the appetizer to his highlight-reel game-winner with a go-ahead three-pointer on the ensuing possession as the senior gave the Pioneers a 74-73 lead with 16 seconds left.
Williams dared to play the role of hero again as he drew a foul with nine seconds remaining and hit both free throws to put the Panthers back on top, 75-74.
Jefferson had the final answer on Saturday, taking the ball on a quick inbound and pushing up the floor, angling to the left corner block and muscling past a defender to bury the runner with just over a second remaining.
Following a timeout, Hanover's three-quarter court inbound was intercepted by Dominique Turner to stamp Transy's ticket into the HCAC Championship game.
Transylvania will face the winner of the other HCAC Semifinal game between Franklin College and Manchester to be played tomorrow afternoon. The Pioneers will face the semifinal winner at a time to be announced tentatively next Wednesday, March 10 or Thursday, March 11. Follow TransySports.com for all the latest schedule updates.
For more on Transylvania men's basketball, follow @TransyHoops on Twitter
