In a matchup that featured the two highest-ranked men's basketball teams to ever meet in Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena, #12 Hillsdale College made a statement on Saturday.
The Chargers knocked off sixth-ranked Findlay 82-71, leading almost the entire way, to avenge an earlier defeat at the hands of the Oilers and become the sole leader atop the Great Midwest Athletic Conference standings with three weeks to play.
All five starters scored in double-figures for the Chargers, led by sophomore Patrick Cartier, who's assembling a resume for G-MAC Player of the Year honors that's going to be hard to ignore.
Cartier finished with 27 points, seven rebounds and three assists for his fifth straight game of 20 or more points and his third straight game of 27 or more. The sophomore was 10-of-13 from the floor, led all players with seven fouls drawn and was 6-of-7 from the line in the victory.
But, as has been the case all year, Cartier got plenty of help from his teammates. Sophomore Tavon Brown shot 6 of 7 from the floor, tied his career-high with 14 points and added 10 rebounds for his first career double-double, while point guard Connor Hill was lethal from midrange all game, shooting 6 of 9 and finishing with 16 points and three assists.
Seniors Austen Yarian and Davis Larson played important roles as well. Yarian finished with 11 points, four rebounds and five assists, while Larson chipped in 10 points, four rebounds and a team-high seven assists as both players kept the ball moving and found their open teammates for easy baskets.
The game was nip-and-tuck early, with Findlay taking advantage of early foul trouble for Cartier to build a 16-13 lead, its largest of the game, with eight minutes left in the first half.
Hillsdale, however, tied the game on a 3-pointer by Hill, then used a dunk by Brown to help jump start a run in the final five minutes of the half that helped them take a 32-25 lead into the break.
The game was close for the early part of the second half, with the Oilers cutting the Hillsdale lead to 53-50 with 10:55 to play.
Another Hill 3-pointer, however, kicked off a 15-4 Hillsdale run that gave the Chargers a 14-point lead with 4:15 to play. While Findlay cut into the deficit multiple times down the stretch, the Oilers never really came close to taking the lead back from that point on.
The Chargers shot 58.8 percent from the floor, including 73.9 percent in the second half, and were also 5 for 8 from 3-point range after the break to seal a signature victory.
Ten offensive rebounds and 11 second-chance points helped keep the Oilers in the game, but Hillsdale both got to the free throw line 18 times to Findlay's eight, and made more of their trips, shooting 72.2% to Findlay's 50%, to help give the Chargers a winning margin.
The victory not only avenges a painful loss on the road on Jan. 2 that saw the Chargers fall to Findlay 68-65 on a last-second half-court shot, but also has major conference and national implications.
At 13-1 overall and 13-1 in G-MAC play, Hillsdale now has a 1.5 game lead on the Oilers and a three-game lead on both Walsh and Kentucky Wesleyan in the G-MAC regular season title race. The Chargers shared the G-MAC regular season crown with the Oilers in 2019-20, and are looking for their first outright title since 2011-12 as a member of the GLIAC.
A win over a top 10 team should see the Chargers move up into the top 10 in the next NABC Division II poll for the first time since Jan. 11, 2011, when Hillsdale achieved its highest-ever ranking of fourth in the nation.
As exciting as Saturday's win was, however, the job's far from done for the Chargers. Hillsdale will have to defend its top spot and ranking with two tough road contests next week. The trip starts with a game against a red-hot Malone team that's won five out of its last six games and nearly upset the Chargers in Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena on Thursday, Feb. 11, at 8 p.m.
Get by that, and the Chargers will have to battle a Walsh team that's still very much in the conference title hunt on the road on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Wins in both games would move Hillsdale considerably closer to the conference crown, while losses could make the title race chaotic once again.
Photo by Camryn Olson
