A long trip home from Michigan's Upper Peninsula is always made a little better coming off a win.
The Charger men's basketball team snapped a four-game losing streak with a well-earned 61-49 win over Northern Michigan University Saturday afternoon in Marquette. Hillsdale is now 11-12 overall and 9-10 in the GLIAC after the win.
The team is back home Thursday night hosting Ferris State University at 8 p.m.
Hillsdale got it done with defense in recording its first road win since January 4. The Chargers held the Wildcats to 34.7 percent shooting from the field in the game and held a 39-24 advantage on the boards. NMU's point total was the third-fewest allowed by Hillsdale all season, and the Wildcats scored just 22 points in the second half.
Junior forward Rhett Smith made all six of his field goal attempts in the game and finished with a career-high 15 points for Hillsdale. He scored 11 in the first half, five of those as part of a 9-0 run that flipped a 24-20 deficit into a 29-24 lead shortly before halftime.
Redshirt-freshman guard Stedman Lowry heated up at just the right time, scoring 8 points early in the second half as Hillsdale built a 13-point lead. He drained four 3-pointers in the win, finishing with 14 on the day.
Junior Kyle Cooper helped finish off the win, making free throws down the stretch when the Wildcats were forced to foul. He recorded his 16th double-double of the season and led the team with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Junior Zach Miller dished out 8 assists, giving him 162 for the season. That total ties Miller for fourth place on the Chargers' single-season assist list.