One goal of the Hillsdale College men's basketball team coming into this season was to find a variety of ways to win games. Friday night, the Chargers had to dip deep into their bag of tricks, but the results were still favorable.
Despite foul and shooting troubles, Hillsdale grinded out a 78-69 regional win over Illinois-Springfield at the St. Joseph's College Thanksgiving Classic, held in Rensselaer, Indiana. Hillsdale, now 2-0, will face the host Pumas at 9 p.m. Eastern time Saturday in the second day of the two-day tournament.
The most reliable scorers for the Chargers – senior Kyle Cooper and sophomore Stedman Lowry – were handcuffed for various reasons throughout much of the game. Lowry didn't make a field goal while Cooper was plagued by foul trouble, especially in the first half. This is where Hillsdale's improved depth and versatility paid off.
Sophomore guard Ryan Badowski scored 14 of his season-high 21 points in the first half, and was able to sustain the Chargers offensively during times when Cooper and Lowry were both on the bench. Badowski did an excellent job of not forcing shots, while making the Prarie Stars pay for leaving him open, on both drives and jumpers.
Badowski was 6-for-11 from the floor and 8-for-9 from the free throw line. He also collected 7 rebounds, adding a key element to the Chargers' winning formula.
Senior center Jason Pretzer was also effective, going 6-for-7 from the field while scoring 13 points in 20 minutes on the court. Pretzer hit a variety of jump shots that kept UIS from packing in its defense close to the rim.
Cooper was limited to just 3 points in 8 minutes on the first half, but keyed a second-half turnaround for the Chargers. UIS came out of the locker room on a 12-2 run to flip a six-point deficit into a 44-40 lead. But Cooper scored 7 points in a 15-6 Hillsdale run that gave it the lead for good. Cooper finished with 15 points and 5 rebounds in 25 minutes.
Redshirt-freshman guard Nate Neveau also scored some important points down the stretch, making all three of his 3-point field goals on his way to a season-high 12 points. Senior guard Zach Miller added 11 points and 4 assists.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: Hillsdale did an excellent job on the boards, outrebounding UIS 38-27, limiting the Prairie Stars to just 6 offensive rebounds on 31 missed shots…Badowski and Neveau each set career-highs in scoring…UIS didn't help itself by going 8-for-15 from the free throw line (53.3 percent) while Hillsdale went 21-for-26 from the charity stripe…Redshirt-freshman center Nick Czarnowski scored his first collegiate points.
PHOTO CREDIT: Jim Drews