A closer-than-expected first half might in Tuesday's G-MAC Tournament quarterfinal might have brought back some uncomfortable memories for the ninth-ranked Hillsdale College men's basketball team.
It was almost a year ago to the day that the top-seeded Chargers, the 2019-20 G-MAC regular season champions, saw their season end in an upset loss in the G-MAC Tournament quarterfinals.
But on Tuesday, the 2020-21 Hillsdale team laid to rest any lingering doubts that they're on a different level from last year's squad, seizing control in the second half to roll past eighth-seeded Trevecca Nazarene, 89-58.
With the win, the Chargers advance to the G-MAC tournament semifinal round for the third time in four seasons, and for the first time will host both the semifinal and final rounds of the G-MAC Tournament this weekend.
Up just 29-23 at the half, Hillsdale came out of the locker room and took charge, making its first five field goals from the floor as part of a 13-0 run that gave the Chargers a double-digit edge that would only grow as the second half wore on.
After shooting just 37 percent from the floor in the first half, the Chargers shot 75 percent from the floor and 83.3 percent from deep to bury the feisty Trojans, who hung in the game for a half with a solid defensive effort.
Sophomore Patrick Cartier scored 16 of his game-high 22 points in the second half and also finished with three rebounds and three assists for the Chargers, senior Austen Yarian chipped in 14 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals, and senior Connor Hill added 14 points and four assists.
Tavon Brown was 2 of 2 from 3-point range for the Chargers and finished with eight points and five assists, and Hillsdale also got a strong showing from its bench, with sophomore Kyle Goessler shooting 100% from the floor and finishing with nine points, and sophomore Peter Kalthoff chipping in four points, four rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
The win is Hillsdale's 17th straight and helps the Chargers improve to 20-1 overall. It also means the Chargers will host a conference tournament Final Four for the first time since the 2011-12 season, when the Chargers fell to Findlay in the GLIAC tournament final.
It's also another milestone for head coach John Tharp in his 14th season with the Chargers, as Tuesday's victory was his 250th at Hillsdale College. Tharp, who has 454 overall victories as a college coach, is already the all-time winningest men's basketball coach in Hillsdale College history, and is in the top 20 among active coaches in Division II in career wins as well.
Hillsdale will host four-seed Malone, a 75-64 winner over Walsh on Tuesday, in one semifinal at 5 p.m. on Friday, while second-seeded Findlay plays sixth-seeded Cedarville at 7 p.m. that night. The two winners will meet in the G-MAC Championship game on Saturday at 4 p.m. with a conference title and an automatic berth to the NCAA Division II tournament on the line.
Photo by Anthony Lupi