The Hillsdale College men's basketball team squeezed the life out of the Salem International offense in the second half of their non-league basketball matchup Saturday afternoon.
The Chargers held the Tigers to just 23 second-half points in a 78-54 win in Hillsdale's regular season home opener at Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena. The win makes the Chargers 2-0 headed into conference play, which begins next Thursday in Ohio.
The first half was tightly played between the teams in the first half, with Salem's quickness and ball movement proving to be a match for the Chargers. But Hillsdale went on an 11-3 run late in the first half to shake loose of the Tigers, then relied on its team defense to wrap up the win in the second half.
Salem shot just 9-for-31 from the field in the second half (29 percent) and made just two field goals in a six-minute stretch that saw Hillsdale maintain momentum. A three-point play by junior guard Zach Miller concluded a 14-5 run that expanded the Charger lead from eight points to 17.
Offensively, the Chargers were led by juniro Kyle Cooper, who followed up a 41-point, 15-rebound performance last Tuesday with a 31-point, 13-rebound game against Salem. Cooper made his first nine consecutive shots from the field, including two perfectly executed alley-oop dunks on fast breaks.
Cooper finished 14-for-20 from the field, and had one block, one steal and one assist in 36 dominant minutes on the floor.
Junior center Jason Pretzer played perhaps the most well-rounded game of his career, as he showed terrific court awareness and rim protection in this win. He had 14 points, 8 rebounds and a career-high 5 assists in 22 minutes off the bench. Pretzer helped set a good defensive tone for Hillsdale in this win with 6 defensive rebounds in the first half, all coming on shots close to the basket.
Miller had 8 points and 3 assists, while redshirt-freshman guard Stedman Lowry had 9 points, making two 3-point baskets.
Photo by Anders Kiledal