The best defense in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference was facing the supreme challenge of the best scorer in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference in a compelling matchup Saturday afternoon.
Score one for the defense.
Led by the defense of junior Davis Larson and the offense of freshman Patrick Cartier, the Charger men's basketball team registered a statement win, 71-59, over Lake Erie College at the Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena. The win keeps the Chargers, 8-5 overall and 4-0 in the G-MAC, all alone in first place in the conference.
The Storm are led by guard Gabe Kynard, who came into the contest averaging a league-leading 20.7 points per game. He is a very tough cover, able to bury deep shots while working his way to the basket with his quickness and strength. Larson drew the defensive assignment, and played Kynard as effectively as anyone had all year.
Larson has the foot speed and upper-body strength to match Kynard's skill, and in this game, Larson won one one-on-one battle after another, forcing Kynard into very difficult shots time after time. Kynard finished with 14 points, nearly 7 below his average, on 5-of-18 shooting from the floor. Him needing 18 shots to score his 14 points was a testament to the dogged defense Larson and his teammates deployed on a gifted scorer.
On the other end of the floor, freshman forward Patrick Cartier turned in another outstanding performance against a contender for the top spot in the conference. He scored 19 of his career-high 28 points in the second half, proving to be unstoppable near the rim.
Cartier did an outstanding job of finding space close to the rim, and created open passing lanes his teammates took advantage of. Most of his baskets came in the form of layups, and when he wasn't going 10-for-12 from the floor, he drained 8 of his 10 free throw attempts, finishing with 28 points on just 12 shots. He also corralled 8 rebounds and blocked 2 shots in another terrific effort.
When Larson wasn't locking down the G-MAC scoring leader, he found time to score 12 points with 6 rebounds and 4 assists. He hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the second half that helped throw momentum strongly in Hillsdale's favor.
Senior Dylan Lowry added 11 points with 4 rebounds while junior Austen Yarian played a tough game inside with 7 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists.
The Chargers had 17 assists on 23 made field goals while holding the Storm to 34 percent shooting in the game.
PHOTO: MaryKate Drews