Fans of the Hillsdale College men's basketball team got a welcome look at some new faces, while getting strong performances from the old reliables during Thursday night's 2015-16 home opener.
Hillsdale stayed unbeaten on the season with an 82-75 win over Tiffin University at Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena. The Chargers are 4-0 overall and 1-0 in conference play.
It wasn't easy at times – and really, in the GLIAC, when is it ever – but Hillsdale was able to get good production from up and down the lineup, showing off its improved depth and versatility.
Senior starters Kyle Cooper and Zach Miller were saddled with foul trouble in the first half, which allowed some faces, both new and old, to step forward.
Redshirt-freshman guard Jonathan Wilkinson scored all 8 of his points in the first half, hitting a pair of 3-pointers to help Hillsdale overcome that foul adversity and take a 40-35 lead at intermission.
Another redshirt-freshman guard, Nate Neveau, also made his home debut and his impact on the game was unmistakable. Playing both guard positions, Neveau made shots from a variety of spots, and helped set up open teammates for shots, finishing the game with a career-high 17 points to go along with 6 rebounds and 4 assists. He committed just one turnover against the intense Dragon pressure in 28 minutes on the floor. Neveau made 9 of his 11 free throws.
But it was senior Jason Pretzer who was the biggest player, both by his height and his production.
The 7-footer tallied a team-high 21 points, going 8-for-13 from the field, to go along with 9 rebounds. His highlight was a monster one-handed slam dunk in the first half, over two Tiffin players, that capped an outstanding start for him. He made his first five shots from the field while draining all four of his free throws in the win.
Both teams struggled shooting the ball at times, particularly from 3-point territory. The teams combined to shoot 10-for-47 from behind the arc, with many of the Chargers' shots rimming in and out in frustrating fashion. But Hillsdale was able to outrebound Tiffin 50-44 while enjoying a nine-point edge from the free throw line.
Cooper had 14 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocked shots in 29 minutes while Miller had 8 points and 4 assists.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: In one stretch, five "new" players were on the floor for the Chargers at the same time – Wilkinson, Neveau, sophomore transfer Ryan Badowski, Jack Cordes and Nick Czarnowski…Wilkinson had scored 4 points in the team's first three games before his 8-point performance Thursday…A total of 47 fouls were called in the game, and the teams combined to shoot 60 free throws.
UP NEXT: Hillsdale hosts Ohio Dominican at 3 p.m. Saturday.
PHOTO CREDIT: Carly Gouge