RICHMOND, Indiana – Earlham College junior Jamel Barnes Jr. scored 37 points and drained six 3-pointers to lead the Quakers past the visiting Hanover College Panthers, in a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball matchup on Saturday at the Druley Performance Gym.

Barnes went 11-of-17 from the floor and was a perfect 9-for-9 at the charity on his way to a career night.

THE BASICS

Final Score: Earlham 81, Hanover 69
Location: Richmond, Indiana – Druley Performance Gym
Records: Earlham 8-13, 4-10 HCAC / Hanover 15-6, 9-5 HCAC

HOW IT HAPPENED

After some wild momentum swings over the first 10 minutes of play, the Quakers eked out a lead late in the opening frame thanks to a 10-0 run that left Earlham in front, 26-22, with 4:54 remaining. The Maroon and White stretched its lead to seven points by the 2:19 mark on a John Sakaleros bucket followed quickly by a Barnes trey, but five straight points from the Panthers over the final two minutes of the half resulted in the Quakers taking a 31-29 advantage into the halftime break.

Both teams came out of the locker room for the second half with offenses firing on all cylinders, with seven ties and 10 lead changes over the final 20 minutes.

A 9-0 Earlham run that featured 3-pointers from Barnes and senior Chainey Zolman left the Quakers with a 62-54 lead with 6:37 showing on the clock, but Hanover rallied to cut the margin to three points. Three consecutive Earlham treys – two by Barnes and another from Zolman – helped extend the Quakers' lead to 73-64, and brought the "Beach Day" student crowd to life.

Barnes went 6-for-6 at the free-throw line over the final 1:15 to help preserve the Earlham victory, and give the Quakers a season sweep over Hanover for the first time since joining the HCAC prior to the 2010-11 season.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Barnes was one of three Earlham players in double figures; he was joined by AJ White and Chainey Zolman with 13 and 12 points apiece. Both Barnes and White grabbed five rebounds to lead the Quakers on the glass. Senior Blake Bonin dished out eight assists while White handed out seven to aid the Earlham cause.

Hanover's Kevin Williams led the Panthers with a career-high 30 points.

Earlham shot 52.9 percent (27-of-51) from the floor, its sixth .500-or-better shooting effort this season, but barely managed to top a Hanover squad that fired at a 51.7 percent (30-of-58) clip.

WHAT'S NEXT

Earlham men's basketball heads to Defiance, Ohio, this Wednesday, Feb. 12, to face Defiance College. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.