To win 15 straight games in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, you can't just win the games you should win.
You also have to find a way to win the games you seem destined to lose, and that's exactly what the ninth-ranked Hillsdale College men's basketball team did to outlast an upset bid by host Tiffin in an 85-83 victory on Wednesday night.
While the Chargers struggled from deep, shooting just 30.8%, and had an uncharacteristically high 18 turnovers on the night, Tiffin was red-hot, shooting 53.3% from the floor and 39.1% from 3-point range to challenge Hillsdale throughout the contest.
A huge night from sophomore Patrick Cartier, who finished with a career-best 32 points as well as eight rebounds, three assists and three steals, kept the Chargers in the mix throughout the contest, but Hillsdale still trailed the Dragons 79-75 with 2:40 to play.
Cartier cut the deficit to 79-77 with a layup on the next possession, and the Chargers locked in down the stretch to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
Senior point guard Connor Hill, who's been a closer all season long for Hillsdale, was sensational down the stretch, hitting an acrobatic fadeaway jumper to tie the game at 79, and coming up with a critical steal with the Chargers leading 81-79 and 47 seconds to play that allowed the Chargers to stretch the lead to two possessions and seize control of the game.
Hill, who finished with 15 points, seven assists and two steals, also was 4 for 4 from the free throw line in the final 20 seconds to help seal the win.
Tiffin refused to go quietly, hitting a 3-pointer with four seconds to play to keep it a one-possession game, but Hill came through at the foul line at the other end to keep Hillsdale up by three points, and a smart foul by Hillsdale' Austen Yarian in the back-court that put Tiffin at the line with 0.6 seconds to play forced the Dragons to play for a miss and a tip in. The Chargers successfully kept Tiffin off the glass to run out the remaining time in the game.
Several other Chargers made critical contributions. Senior Davis Larson scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half to keep the Chargers close as Tiffin surged early in the period, and also chipped in six rebounds and two assists.
Sophomore Tavon Brown had six points, eight rebounds and three assists, including two critical offensive rebounds in the final 30 seconds that helped Hillsdale protect a two-point advantage, and Yarian chipped in eight points, seven rebounds and five assists as well.
The Chargers improve to 18-1 overall and in G-MAC play with the win, and continue the best winning streak in program history, now at 15 straight victories. Hillsdale will look to close out the regular season on a winning note and head into the G-MAC tournament with momentum in a senior day contest against a tough Cedarville squad on Saturday at 3 p.m. Before that game, the Chargers also will salute their two graduating seniors, Hill and Larson, with a pregame ceremony.
Photo by Anthony Lupi