The much-anticipated matchup between the 10th-ranked Findlay Oilers and the 23rd-ranked Hillsdale College Chargers was as good as advertised on Saturday.
That included an instant classic finish that, unfortunately for the Chargers, didn't end in their favor in a 68-65 road loss to the Oilers.
Trailing 65-62, Hillsdale's sophomore center, Patrick Cartier, drew a foul on a potential tying 3-point attempt with two seconds to play.
Cartier, a career 76 percent free throw shooter facing the highest-pressure attempts of his career, coolly knocked down all three to tie the game at 65-all, and seemingly force an overtime period.
But Findlay's Tommy Schmock took the inbounds and put up a 3-pointer from half-court that went in as time expired to give the Oilers the walk-off win in a back-and-forth game between two of the Midwest's top Division II programs.
The buzzer-beating shot capped a wild finish that saw the lead change between the two teams five times in the final five minutes. Hilsdale senior Davis Larson was sensational down the stretch in his best game of the young season, scoring 12 of his 18 points in the second half to help the Chargers stay close as Findlay surged throughout the period.
Hillsdale controlled the game for most of the first half, opening the contest on a 13-3 run and leading by double-digits for most of the period. The Chargers shot 57.7 percent from the floor in the first half and held Findlay to just 30 percent on all field goals to take a 35-23 lead into halftime.
Findlay came out of the locker room with a better defensive effort and found its rhythm offensively in the second half, outscoring Hillsdale 32-14 over the first 11 minutes after the break to take a six-point lead, its largest of the game.
But Hillsdale refused to fold, getting two free throws and a transition layup from Larson to cut Findlay's lead to 55-53 with eight minutes to go, and setting up a wild finish where neither team led by more than three points to the final buzzer.
Larson finished with seven rebounds and two assists to go with his 18 points. The senior and two-time All-G-MAC player started the 2020-21 season slowly after returning from a season-ending ACL tear late in 2019-20, but looked like his old self against the Oilers.
Cartier added 11 points, including those three late free throws, three steals and two blocks for the Chargers, senior Austen Yarian chipped in 10 points, eight rebounds and three assists, and senior Connor Hill added 10 points and four assists.
Sophomore Tavon Brown contributed in several categories for the Chargers, adding six points, five rebounds, three assists and two blocks. The Chargers looked good offensively, shooting 52.8 percent from the floor for the game and going 17 of 20 from the free throw line, but an uncharacteristic 15 turnovers that led to 18 Oiler points left the door open for Findlay's buzzer-beater.
The loss stings for Hillsdale, which had a real opportunity to hand the No. 10 team in Division II a loss on their home floor, but there's a lot of season left to play, and the Chargers will get another shot at the Oilers on Feb. 6 at Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena.
First, Hillsdale (3-1, 3-1 G-MAC) has to turn around quickly and travel to Painesville, OH, to take on Lake Erie at 3 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 4. Every conference contest is critical for the Chargers as Hillsdale looks to keep within striking distance of Findlay in the G-MAC standings ahead of that Feb. 6 rematch.
Photo: Davis Larson. Photo by Gwen Buchhop.