An 11-point halftime deficit proved to be too much for the Hillsdale College men's basketball team to overcome Thursday night.
The Chargers recovered to make it a close game at the end, but could not overcome the host Northwood University Timberwolves in a 74-69 loss at Midland's Bennett Center. Hillsdale is now 8-5 overall and 6-3 in the GLIAC, and ventures north Saturday to take on Lake Superior State University.
Northwood opened the game hot from 3-point land, burying 6 of its first 11 shots from beyond the arc, and built a lead that reached 16 points late in the first half. But in the second half, Hillsdale mounted a comeback, led by its tallest player.
Junior center Jason Pretzer had a career night, scoring 23 points on 9-for-14 shooting, the most points he's scored as a Charger. He got the team going midway through the second half when it went on a 26-14 run to close its deficit to five points.
Northwood's lead was trimmed to four with 1:52 to go, but the Chargers could not combine stops with baskets to tighten the game any further.
The Timberwolves held significant advantages in points off turnovers (17-8) and fast-break points (11-2), negating a big edge in rebounding by Hillsdale (37-27). The Chargers did a solid job on their defensive boards, limiting the athletic Timberwolves to just two offensive rebounds on 27 missed shots. Northwood shot 50 percent for the game and committed just 6 turnovers.
Junior Kyle Cooper had another double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds for Hillsdale, while guard Garrett Jones came off the bench to score 10.