The Charger men's basketball team put on a fun performance, especially in the first half, in its home opener Tuesday night.
After trailing 8-2 early, Hillsdale used a lethal transition game to defeat Urbana University 87-54 to improve to 3-0 on the season.
The Blue Knights opened the game connecting on 3-point baskets early to quickly build a six-point lead. But Hillsdale used its exceptional guard play to record one transition basket after another, and by the time the first half ended, the Chargers found themselves with a 32-point lead.
With good one-on-one defense, consistent defensive rebounding and led by the superb transition play of guard Nate Neveau, Hillsdale scored 20 fast-break points in the victory, an especially high number given how early in the season it is. Hillsdale outscored Urbana 20-2 on fast-break points in the contest.
Hillsdale shot 65 percent from the floor in the first half and got great looks in its half court offense when it wasn't finishing effectively on the fast break. Redshirt-freshman forward Davis Larson, who made his home collegiate debut, also helped engineer the team's transition game with three first-half steals, and seven first-half points.
More evidence of Hillsdale's terrific two-way play came in the turnover department. In that first half, Hillsdale forced 14 Urbana turnovers while committing just three turnovers on the other end. That helped the Chargers to a 29-9 edge in points off turnovers in the game.
With a margin that reached as high as 42 points, head coach John Tharp was able to get quality minutes in for his entire roster. Redshirt-freshman Connor Hill and true freshman Austen Yarian also scored their first collegiate points while logging valuable time on the floor in the second half.
Hillsdale's leading scorer was guard Mike Travlos, who showed off his deadly shooting ability to the tune of 11 points. Nine of those came on three gorgeous 3-point baskets right after he checked into the game in the second half. Travlos gives Hillsdale guard depth that few teams in Division II figure to be able to match.
Neveau had 10 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists in just 18 minutes on the court. Junior Nick Czarnowski also had 10, making four of his six shots from the floor. In all, 15 players scored points for Hillsdale in this win.