Trips to the state of Ohio have been somewhat traumatic for the Hillsdale College men's basketball team this season. Thursday night was not one of those.
Playing with conifidence, balance and a high level of execution, the Chargers earned a comfortable 75-59 win over the Lake Erie College Storm in Painesville, Ohio. Hillsdale is now 15-7 overall and 11-7 in the GLIAC with the win. The team stays south Saturday, taking on Ashland University on the road starting at 3 p.m.
Hillsdale had been 0-4 in games played in the state of Ohio this season prior to Thursday's win.
The Chargers led for the last 37 1/2 minutes of the game, recovering quickly from a hot-shooting start by Lake Erie. After falling behind 7-2, the Chargers came back quickly to put a 15-3 run on the Storm to take control. Hillsdale gradually pulled away throughout the contest, leading by nine at halftime, and never losing a double digit lead throughout the second half.
Hillsdale punished Lake Erie on the boards, holding a 31-22 edge in rebounds in the game. For the second consecutive game, the Charger offense was operating efficiently, as the team shot 59.2 percent from the floor (29-for-49). Seven of the nine players who had a field goal attempt made 50 percent of his shots or better in the win.
Senior forward Tim Dezelski led the way, going 11-for-16 from the field to lead all players with 25 points and 14 rebounds. When Dezelski is able to shake loose of the defense and get in position for layups, Hillsdale is typically at its best. That's exactly what happened in this game. Six of his 11 field goals came off assists from his teammates, while two others came off his offensive rebounds.
Sophomore guard Zach Miller handed out a season-high 7 assists in 21 minutes on the court.
Sophomore center Jason Pretzer scored in double figures for the second game in a row, the first time in his career he's accomplished that. He finished with 12 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists in 20 impactful minutes on the court. In his past two games, Pretzer has scored 27 points. He scored a total of 48 points in his first 20 games of the season.
Senior guard Brandon Pritzl added 11 points, while sophomore Kyle Cooper had 8 points for the Chargers.