Every win this time of year is big, for any team, regardless of postseason positioning.
For the Hillsdale College men's basketball team, Thursday night's win was as big as they get.
Thanks to a lights-out first-half shooting performance from sophomore guard Stedman Lowry, and some tenacious two-way play in the second half, the Chargers went a long way towards clinching a GLIAC Tournament spot with an 88-70 win over Ferris State University in Big Rapids.
Hillsdale, winners of three straight, is now 15-9 overall and 11-9 in the GLIAC. A win over Grand Valley State Saturday afternoon at home will clinch a conference postseason berth for the Chargers.
Playing in a tough environment against a physical and athletic opponent, the Chargers were able to counter Ferris State with the incredible shooting of Lowry, who had another magical half. He made seven of his first nine 3-point attempts, all in the first half, and sparked Hillsdale with 24 points in the game's first 20 minutes. Hillsdale's 47-30 halftime lead was its largest in any conference game this season, home or away.
A team as talented as the Bulldogs wasn't going to stay down for long, and in the second half, they slowly chipped away at the deficit. A 3-pointer by Jibreel Jackson made it a six-point game, 69-63, with 4:22 to play. More than enough time for a good team, at home, to finish off the comeback. But two wins last week by the Chargers gave them some confidence back, and that confidence showed.
In the final four minutes of the game, Hillsdale outscored Ferris State 19-7. Senior Jason Pretzer got the game-ending run started with a 3-pointer, while freshman guard Nate Neveau dropped in a pair of layups to ensure the lead for the Chargers.
Senior forward Kyle Cooper, held in check in the first half, still put up solid numbers with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. Neveau had 14 points in 26 strong minutes off the bench, and Pretzer added 10 points and 8 rebounds.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: This was Hillsdale's last-ever regular season GLIAC trip to Ferris State; the teams play once next season, in Hillsdale, and the Chargers will move to the Great Midwest Athletic Conference in 2017-18…The Chargers are in a 3-way tie with Northwood and Grand Valley State for the two wild card spots in the GLIAC Tournament; Hillsdale has a win over GVSU already, and a win over the Lakers Saturday would give the Chargers a season sweep and a one-game lead over GVSU, which, when tiebreakers are applied, effectively becomes a two-game lead with one to play, thus clinching a postseason spot for Hillsdale…Senior guard Zach Miller recorded his 400th career assist in the game, becoming just the sixth player in school history to reach that mark.
UP NEXT: Hillsdale hosts Grand Valley State at 1:00 Saturday in the final home game of the season.
PHOTO CREDIT: Jim Drews