The first half was a back and forth battle between the two conference foes. Both teams held leads in the first 18 minutes, but the Bucs played from one or two possessions in front for most of the first half. When the buzzer rang for halftime, the Owls held a slim advantage of 34-33.

The Owls stayed unbeaten in their second one-point win in their first four games. On the road against the Buccaneers Dec. 11, Hancock earned their first Little Eight Conference win with a 61-60 win over Border West. Thanks to a steal and a made free throw with less than a second left from Cruise Millette, Hancock survived a late scare from the Bucs to start the conference season with a win.

The second half started like the first with each team trading buckets. Hancock slowly started to pull away and opened their largest lead of the game at 58-48 with five minutes left in the game. The Bucs scored the next 12 points to take a 60-58 lead with 30 ticks on the clock. Eli Mattson secured a rebound and quickly scored a fastbreak layup with 27 seconds left to tie the game at 62-62. Cruise Millette put a nail in the coffin with a steal with five seconds left and was fouled with 0.5 seconds on the clock and went to the line for two shots. After missing the first, Millette swished the second to give the Owls a 61-60 lead with less than a second left. The Bucs attempted a full-court tip play, but the shot missed, giving Hancock a one-point win.

The Owls finished the contest with three players in double figures. Eli Mattson led the way with 18 points and pulled in seven rebounds. Preston Kisgen added 17 points and Preston Feucht had 12 points. Luca Felix chipped in with eight points, six rebounds and led the team with nine assists and seven steals. 

The team was back in action for another conference road game against Brandon-Evansville Dec. 16. Next on the schedule, Hancock will host Hillcrest Lutheran Academy Thursday, Dec. 18.

Hancock 34 27 – 61

BW 33 27 – 60

Hancock – Scoring: Eli Mattson 18, Preston Kisgen 17, Preston Feucht 12, Luca Felix 8, Cruise Millette 3, Jace Meierding 2, Brady Luthi 1; 3-pointers: Felix 2, Feucht 1, Kisgen 1; Rebounds: Luthi 7, Meierding 7, Mattson 7, Felix 6; Assists: Felix 9; Steals: Felix 7, Meierding 3