The Hillsdale College men's basketball team did a lot of things right Saturday afternoon. It shot the ball extremely well, had a halftime lead and ran its offense efficiently. None of those things were enough to get a win.
Lake Superior State University was on fire throughout the second half in its 89-80 win over the Chargers in Sault Ste. Marie. Hillsdale falls to 2-2 overall and 0-2 in the GLIAC with the loss, and will next play Saturday, Dec. 14 at home vs. Michigan Tech.
The Lakers drained eight 3-point field goals over the last 18 minutes of the game, after going 2-for-10 from beyond the arc in the first half. LSSU outrebounded Hillsdale 38-32, but gave itself a lot of extra possessions thanks to two things: 13 offensive rebounds (compared to five for the Chargers) and only four turnovers in the game. Combining the offensive rebound margin with the turnover margin, the Lakers were able to take 11 more shots from the field than Hillsdale, which helped turn the game around.
The Chargers led 49-40 with 18:37 left in the second half after a three-point play by senior forward Tim Dezelski. From that point on, the Lakers outscored the Chargers 49-31 to win going away. The 89 points allowed by Hillsdale are its most in a game since Jan. 19, 2012.
One of the bright spots for Hillsdale was the shooting of senior guard Anthony Manno, who set two career-highs Saturday. He scored 24 points, making seven 3-point field goals. He came off the bench to hit three 3-point shots immediately in the first half, helping give the Chargers an 11-point lead in the first half.
The game featured huge scoring runs by both teams. Lake Superior State held a 16-9 lead early in the game, only to see the Chargers storm back with a 28-10 run to take a 37-26 lead. The Lakers had the last, and longest run, which proved to be the difference.
Dezelski had 23 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots for Hillsdale. Senior guard Brandon Pritzl hit three 3-pointers and finished with 14 points and a career-high tying nine assists.
This was the first time Lake Superior State beat Hillsdale College in men's basketball since Jan. 31, 2009. The Chargers had won the last three meetings by an average of 10.1 points per game.