One of the most entertaining games in recent memory unfolded at Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena Saturday afternoon, as the Hillsdale College men's basketball team pulled out a thrilling 94-90 win over Walsh University.
The teams took turns trading big scoring runs and clutch shots on the first game of the new year. A total of 24 3-point shots were made by the two teams, 14 coming from the visiting Cavaliers, and seven of those from guard Jesse Hardin, Jr., who had no conscience while leading his team with 30 points.
But he couldn't compete with Hillsdale's Kyle Cooper, who put together a magnificent performance in a career full of them. Cooper tied his career-high with 41 points, going 14-for-20 from the floor, 9-for-9 from the free throw line, and 4-for-6 from 3-point territory. He added 11 rebounds – 9 on the defensive end – and turned the ball over just once in 39 minutes.
Cooper simply made shots from anywhere he was on the floor. Three-pointers coming off screens. Layups off feeds from mostly senior guard Zach Miller. Pull-up jumpers in the lane. Hook shots from the paint. Cooper was locked in from all angles, and became the first Charger in more than 50 years to record two 40-point performances in a career.
Both teams were lighting the nets on fire to open the game. Walsh's first five made field goals were all 3-point shots, and the Cavs ended up making just one more two-point basket (15) than three-point baskets (14). Hardin was 9-for-18 from the field, and 7-for-13 from the 3-point line.
But perhaps the game's biggest shot didn't come from Cooper or Hardin. After Hardin made a pair of free throws to put Walsh up 88-86 with 1:14 to go, sophomore guard Stedman Lowry swished a corner 3-pointer that gave the Chargers the lead for good, 89-88, with exactly one minute to play.
Hillsdale cranked up its defense from there, forcing an offensive foul by Walsh and a turnover on two of the Cavs' final three possessions. Lowry and Cooper went a combined 4-for-4 from the stripe to help seal up this exciting game.
Miller played his first game since Dec. 12 and finished with a double-double, 10 points and 12 assists. Lowry added 16 points, while sophomore Ryan Badowski (11) rounded out the scoring leaders for Hillsdale.
Junior center Nick Archer made his season debut, coming back from injury and made a nice contribution of 8 points and 3 rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: Walsh outrebounded Hillsdale 33-31, but the Chargers had the edge in turnovers, committing only 7 compared to 10 for the Cavs…Cooper's other 41-point performance came in the 2014-15 season opener, a win over Cedarville…Cooper now leads the GLIAC in scoring at 23.8 points per game.
UP NEXT: Hillsdale hosts Malone at 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon.
PHOTO CREDIT: Kadie Lowery