More than once in Tuesday's double-overtime road thriller at Cedarville, it looked like the Hillsdale men's basketball team's eight-game win streak was dead and buried.
In the end, it was Charger senior Davis Larson who laid to rest the Yellow Jackets' upset hopes, rather than Hillsdale's win streak.
With 19 seconds remaining in the second overtime and 12th-ranked Hillsdale clinging to a 77-76 lead, Larson hit a contested corner 3-pointer to give the Chargers the breathing room it needed to escape Callan Athletic Center with an 83-79 win over Cedarville.
The Chargers had to rally multiple times just to get to the second overtime. Hillsdale trailed Cedarville 63-62 with 24 seconds remaining in the second half, only for Charger big man Patrick Cartier to draw a foul and get to the line with 13 seconds to play.
Cartier was just 1 of 2 at the line, but coupled with strong Charger defense at the other end, it was enough to force an extra period and give Hillsdale another chance.
That extra period, however, started as badly as it could for the Chargers. Hillsdale turned the ball over on its opening possesion and the Yellow Jackets scored on their first three possessions to take a significant 69-63 advantage.
With the game on the line again, however, Hillsdale locked in defensively, holding Cedarville scoreless for the final 3:17 of the overtime period and forcing a second overtime on a transition dunk by Cartier with 2.7 seconds to play.
Hillsdale fell behind two more times in the second overtime, as Cedarville hit a long 3-pointer to take a 74-71 lead early in the period and then got a layup from guard Branden Maughmer with 1:32 left to go back in front, 76-75.
But throughout the contest, Cedarville couldn't stop Cartier without putting him on the line, and in the final period the sophomore was biggest when the Chargers needed him to be. Cartier scored seven of the Chargers' 14 points in the second OT, including going 5 of 6 from the charity stripe, and hit two free throws with 1:11 to play that put Hillsdale up for good.
Currently the G-MAC's leading scorer, Cartier was unstoppable again on Tuesday. Coming off a weekend where he set a new career high in scoring against Ohio Dominican, Cartier reset that mark with 30 points and eight rebounds. 14 of those points came at the free throw line, where Cartier was a frequent visitor, fouling out three different Cedarville post players over the course of the two overtime periods.
Cartier was critical, but he had help from the Chargers' three seniors. Larson made a massive impact down the stretch, scoring 17 of his 19 points in the second half and overtime, and chipping in five rebounds and three assists.
Forward Austen Yarian also made his presence felt, finishing with 19 points and seven rebounds and going 3 for 6 from 3-point range on some crucial makes for the Chargers, and guard Connor Hill chipped in 11 points, four rebounds and two assists and provided steady ballhandling down the stretch when the Chargers needed it most.
Hillsdale controlled the game early, taking a 9-2 lead almost immediately and leading 34-23 late in the first half. The Chargers looked like they might pull away for the road win, but Cedarville came back with a vengeance, uncorking a 16-0 run that spanned the end of the first half and into the second to pull out in front.
From there, it was a dogfight, as the two teams went blow-for-blow for the final 11 minutes of regulation and both overtimes of tense, high level basketball.
The win is an important one for Hillsdale, and not just because of how hard-fought it was. The Chargers improve to 12-1 overall and in G-MAC play with the victory and remain tied for first-place with sixth-ranked Findlay, who handed the Chargers their only loss of the season on Jan. 2 on the road in a 68-65 game decided by a half-court buzzer-beater. Hillsdale will get an opportunity at revenge and a chance to seize control of the league title race on Saturday when it hosts the Oilers at 3 p.m.
The game between the Chargers and Oilers will mark just the second time that two nationally-ranked G-MAC teams have played each other, and the first time both teams will be ranked in the top 15. With any luck, it will be just as exciting and well-played as tonight's contest between the Chargers and Cedarville.
Photo by Anthony Lupi