It didn't end up being as easy as it looked like it might be with 15 minutes left in the second half.
But in the end, the 18th-ranked Hillsdale College men's basketball team got the job done on the road, holding off a late Trevecca Nazarene charge to earn a 56-53 victory on Thursday night and improve to 8-1 on the year.
Hillsdale was dominant defensively early on, holding the Trojans to just 18 points and 30.4% shooting from the floor in the first half.
A 14-7 run in the first 5:22 of the second half helped the Chargers take a 45-25 lead, and it looked like Hillsdale might be able to pull away for good.
But Trevecca battled back with a 13-0 run to cut the Charger lead to seven with 7:49 to play, and kept the pressure on throughout a nervous final eight minutes as Hillsdale struggled to find the buckets it needed to close out the game.
Sophomore forward Patrick Cartier converted two big layups with under four minutes to play to give the Chargers breathing room late, and while senior Davis Larson wasn't perfect from the line in the final seconds, he made two big free throws to help provide the winning margin for Hillsdale. Trevecca had a chance to tie or take the lead late, but a turnover with two seconds to go allowed the Chargers to escape Nashville with the victory.
Those two free throws by Larson were part of his game-high and season-best 18 points on the night to go with five rebounds and four assists. 16 of those 18 points came in the first half, as Larson connected on 3 of 4 3-point tries in the first 20 minutes.
By going 3 for 4 on 3-pointers tonight, Larson also moved into first place all-time on the Chargers' career 3-point percentage list, moving above Hillsdale sharpshooter Tim Homan, who played for the Chargers from 2004 to 2008. Larson is now at 45.2% on 3-pointers for his career, though he'll have to keep shooting at a high percentage for the rest of the season to remain on top and set the record.
Cartier chipped in 17 points and seven rebounds in another strong performance for the Charger sophomore, who's scored in double-digits in all nine contests for Hillsdale this season. Senior forward Austen Yarian chipped in 13 points and seven rebounds of his own.
At 8-1 overall, 8-1 in the G-MAC, Hillsdale remains tied for the conference lead with ninth-ranked Findlay and Walsh. The Chargers continue their road trip with a tough Saturday contest at Kentucky Wesleyan in the Owensboro Sportscenter. Hillsdale won the first meeting with the Panthers 72-58 on Dec. 19, but Kentucky Wesleyan, coming off a tough loss to Findlay on Thursday night, will be hungry for revenge and also will get senior point guard Jo Griffin, who missed the first contest, back in the lineup for Saturday's game.
Photo: Davis Larson (#21). Photo Courtesy of the Trevecca Nazarene Athletics Department.