Ohio Dominican is one of those teams that has had a knack for beating the Hillsdale College men's basketball team over the past few years. The Panthers had won four out of the past five matchups between these teams coming into Saturday's game.
The Chargers weren't the least bit interested in that trend continuing.
Shooting and playing at a high level, Hillsdale claimed a 79-67 win over the Panthers to wrap up a strong week of home games. Hillsdale is now 16-8 overall and 12-3 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.
Outside shots were falling for Hillsdale, who was 12-for-21 from 3-point land as a team. Although the quantity of 3-pointers weren't high, the team made its shots at opportune times, and were efficient with shot selection.
Several of those threes went down during the second half when the Panthers were scrapping to stay within striking distance. Hillsdale led by as many as 14 early in the second half, a lead that would get chopped to five and seven points later in the half. But the Chargers found a way to make shots exactly when they needed them, prohibiting the Panthers from clawing back into the lead.
Hillsdale shot 54 percent from the field and 57 percent from the 3-point arc in the win.
Junior Austen Yarian drained five 3-point field goals, finishing with 18 points in the game. Freshman Patrick Cartier had another strong effort in the paint with 20 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists.
Senior Dylan Lowry had 12 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists and once again made buckets down the stretch that kept the Chargers in the lead. Connor Hill and Tavon Brown each finished with 9 points, giving the Chargers great offensive balance.
PHOTO: MaryKate Drews