A newly renovated Jesse Philips Arena was officially baptised by basketball Wednesday night, and the Charger men's basketball team played worthy of its "new" home.
Featuring a well balanced offensive attack, Hillsdale moved to 1-0 on the season with an 88-64 win over Lourdes University in front of more than 450 fans. The team next takes the court on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at home against Cedarville University.
After enduring an exhibition season against three high-quality Division I opponents, the Chargers were challenged by a gifted Lourdes team that has been a regular participant in the NAIA national tournament in recent years. The Chargers executed well, especially on offense for this point in the season, and gradually built their lead throughout the game.
Although Lourdes shot 51 percent from the field, the Chargers used 16 offensive rebounds and had six fewer turnovers to generate 12 more shot attempts to counter the Grey Wolves' shooting. The Chargers were no slouches from the field themselves, burying 49 percent of their shots from the floor, and six different players combined to make 11 3-point field goals in the win.
Senior Tim Dezelski was a model of efficiency in his regular season debut, leading the team with 22 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks and 3 steals in the game. He made eight of his first nine shots from the floor and hit a pair of 3-point shots.
Senior guard Brandon pritzl made all six of his free throws, and had 16 points and four assists. Sophomore Kyle Cooper, who got the start at center, had 11 points.
Sophomore center Jason Pretzer made a nice controbution in 19 minutes off the bench with nione points and eight rebounds.