The road-weary Hillsdale College men's basketball team suffered a 76-55 loss at Wayne State University in a GLIAC matchup Saturday afternoon in Detroit. The loss drops Hillsdale to 4-4 on the season, 0-2 in conference play.
Playing on the road for the seventh time in eight games to open the season, Hillsdale struggled to find an offensive flow in the loss to the Warriors, while Wayne State was humming, shooting 55 percent from the floor while enjoying a 36-24 edge on the boards.
Wayne State played an outstanding game on the defensive end, successfully guarding the Chargers effectively both around the 3-point line as well as in the paint. Hillsdale had a tough time finding open shots against the Warriors all day.
Hillsdale shot a season-low 37 percent from the field, going 17-for-46 for the game. It wasn't any better from 3-point territory, as the Chargers shot 35 percent (7-for-20) for the game. The Warriors did a good job defending off screens and staying active in the passing lanes, keeping Hillsdale from finding its ideal offensive flow.
After falling behind 13-2 to open the game, Hillsdale tied the game at 24 after a free throw by center Nick Czarnowski. But the Warriors ended the half on a 9-2 run to take a seven-point lead into intermission, and didn't slow down in the second half.
The closest the Chargers got in the second half was an eight-point deficit after a 3-pointer by Ryan Badowski made the score 59-51. But Wayne State hit the gas from there, finishing the game on a 17-4 run.
Badowski led the Chargers with 16 points, making three 3-point buckets and shooting 4-for-7 from the field. Sophomore Nate Neveau had 11 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists for the Chargers.
UP NEXT: Hillsdale finally comes home, taking on Grand Valley State at 8 p.m. Saturday in the team's GLIAC home opener.