They needed this.
The players and coaches on the Hillsdale College men's basketball team were frustrated after three difficult losses in their last three games. Saturday afternoon, that streak ended in a grand way.
Hillsdale played with toughness and heart in earning a 76-63 win over Grand Valley State in Allendale. The win makes the Chargers 12-6 overall and 8-6 in the GLIAC.
There were two sequences that swung the game heavily in Hillsdale's favor. The team got off to a good start, which was big given the three-game losing streak the team was carrying into the game. The Chargers drained four 3-pointers on the game's first six possessions, and led 23-11 seven minutes into the first half.
But as is life on the road, the Chargers saw the lead slip away thanks to the Lakers' intensity on both ends of the floor. The Hillsdale lead dwindled to two by halftime, and six minutes into the second half, Grand Valley State built a four-point lead, 43-39.
This was the key juncture when Hillsdale could see its postseason hopes greatly dimmed, or it was going to show the character winning teams have. The team chose the latter, putting together the second key sequence in the victory.
A 13-0 run that took four minutes threw the game back in the Chargers' favor in a big way. Senior forward Kyle Cooper scored seven straight points on the tail end of the run, recovering from a three-point and foul-laden first half.
Redshirt-freshman center Nick Czarnowski gave the team some crucial minutes in this stretch as well. With Jason Pretzer on the bench with foul trouble, Czarnowski made two free throws and played tough inside defense, helping Hillsdale on the defensive half of that game-changing 13-0 run.
Hillsdale put forth a great effort on the defensive side of the ball, limiting the Lakers to 33 percent shooting for the game, the lowest field goal percentage for a Charger opponent all season long. The Chargers also forced the Lakers to commit 17 turnovers, and outscored GVSU by 10 (22-12) in points off turnovers. Grand Valley State made just eight field goals in the second half.
Cooper scored 12 of his team-high 15 points in the second half while pulling down 7 rebounds. Pretzer and sophomore Stedman Lowry each scored 14. Ryan Badowski added 11 and junior center Nick Archer came off the bench to score a season-high 10, all in the first half when he played a big part in the Chargers keeping the lead throughout the first half.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: The win enabled Hillsdale to pull into a tie in the GLIAC North Division standings with the Lakers (8-6)…The teams will meet again in Hillsdale on Feb. 20…The Chargers trailed in the game for only 3:10…This was the last-ever GLIAC regular season meeting between Hillsdale and Grand Valley State in Allendale…Six different players made 3-point baskets in the win for the Chargers.
UP NEXT: Hillsdale hosts first-place Saginaw Valley State at 8 p.m. Monday at Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena.
PHOTO CREDIT: Jim Drews