Everyone got in on the fun during the first win of the 2019-20 season for the Hillsdale College men's basketball team.
The Chargers broke into the win column in a big way, defeating Oakland City 105-54 Saturday night at the Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena, wrapping up the opening weekend of play. The Chargers are now 1-1 on the season.
Seven players scored in double figures, and twelve different players scored points as Hillsdale cruised to this win from start to finish. The team shot 57 percent from the field, and held that percentage fairly consistently throughout the game. The Chargers showed patience on offense, and worked the ball to the open man effectively.
Several newcomers to the team made their presence felt. Freshman forward Patrick Cartier broke out with a 19-point, 9-rebound performance in his second home start. He went 6-for-9 from the field and swished all seven of his free throws as he carved out space for himself under the basket effectively. His teammates did a nice job of finding him on cuts and post ups, getting high-quality looks at the basket.
Dylan Lowry and Davis Larson each scored 13 points, with Larson connecting on 5-of-6 shots from the field. Junior forward Austen Yarian recorded his first double-double of the season, picking up 11 points and 11 rebounds, 10 of those boards on the defensive end.
Freshman forward Tavon Brown came off the bench to score a career-high 11 points, making his first career 3-pointer, and going 4-for-7 from the field. Senior Mike Travlos came off the bench to score 10, and in a crowd-pleasing sequence, senior forward Noah Kalthoff scored 10 points in 6 minutes off the bench, going 4-for-4 from the floor.
The Chargers outrebounded the Mighty Oaks 49-30 and held Oakland City to 29 percent shooting from the floor.
PHOTO: Victoria Addis