In the end, there was just a little bit too much size, quickness and athleticism on the Kentucky Wesleyan side.
In a fast-paced contest in Quincy, Illinois, the Hillsdale College men's basketball team led for much of the way, but fell to the Panthers 80-76 Saturday afternoon at the QU Subway Holiday Classic. The loss drops the Chargers to 5-2, while KWC improves to 9-3 on the season.
Hillsdale plays the loser of Saturday night's Quincy-Tiffin game at 4 p.m. Eastern time Sunday.
The Chargers played a terrific game offensively, shooting 55 percent for the game from the floor, while going 12-for-14 from the free throw line. Hillsdale led this game from the 11:56 mark of the first half until 2:56 remained in the second half. The Panthers were simply relentless, continually attacking the rim and using its speed and length to tilt the game in its favor at the end.
KWC chipped away at the lead, and outscored the Chargers 20-11 over the final 6:54 of the second half. Hillsdale was outscored 44-20 on points in the paint and 16-4 in points off turnovers. The game was tied six times and the lead changed hands 11 times.
The loss ruined a handful of terrific performances by the Chargers. Junior forward Kyle Cooper had another huge contest with 27 points on 10-for-13 shooting from the floor. He led the team with 7 rebounds and was 4-for-6 from the 3-point line.
Guard Garrett Jones scored a career-high 22 points in 22 minutes off the bench, hitting 7-of-11 shots from the field. Redshirt-freshman Stedman Lowry scored 10 of his 12 points in the first half.
Junior guard Zach Miller set a career-high and new tournament record with 11 assists in the game. That marked the first time a Hillsdale College men's basketball player dished out 10 or more assists in a game since Tyler Gerber did it in the GLIAC Tournament on March 3, 2012.