The Hillsdale College men's basketball team made program history by earning the top seed in the Atlantic Region in the 2021 NCAA Division II Tournament.
On Sunday, they'll look to take advantage of the opportunity that placement creates and do something the team hasn't done in 20 years -- win an NCAA Tournament game.
Hillsdale will play the winner of fourth-seeded Mercyhurst and fifth-seeded Fairmont State in the regional semifinal on Sunday night at West Liberty University in West Virginia, with a chance to make the program's first ever Sweet 16 appearance with a victory.
It won't be easy. The Atlantic Region is loaded with tough teams this season, and the Chargers will have to be in top form to have a shot at advancing.
Tickets are available for fans interested in making the trip to West Liberty to watch the game at the link provided below. Tickets go on sale at 9 a.m. on Thursday, March 11, and will be very limited, so please get yours early if you wish to attend. Please be prepared to follow all local and campus health guildelines related to Covid-19 in order to attend the regional games this weekend.
If you can't make it to West Virginia, check out the tournament central link, which will include live streams of all five of this weekend's games as well as links to rosters and stats for all participating teams.
Schedule
#6 Malone (15-6, 13-6 G-MAC) vs #3 West Liberty (15-4, 13-3 MEC) | 6 p.m. ET Saturday, March 13 | ASRC | West Liberty, WV – Quarterfinal #1
#5 Fairmont St. (15-4, 12-4 MEC) vs #4 Mercyhurst (11-0) | 8:45 p.m. ET Saturday, March 13 | ASRC | West Liberty, WV – Quarterfinal #2
Quarterfinal #1 Winner vs #2 Charleston (14-3, 13-2 MEC) | 5 p.m. ET Sunday, March 14 | ASRC | West Liberty, WV – Semifinal #1
Quarterfinal #2 Winner vs #1 Hillsdale (20-2, 19-1 G-MAC) | 7:45 p.m. ET Sunday, March 14 | ASRC | West Liberty, WV – Semifinal #2
Semifinal #2 Winner vs Semifinal #1 Winner | 7 p.m. ET Tuesday, March 16 | ASRC | West Liberty, WV – Semifinal #2
Follow/Watch
Tournament Central | Tickets (can be purchased March 11 at 9 a.m.)
Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | 2020-21 Hillsdale Stats
Projected Starters
Hillsdale: #15 Patrick Cartier, So., F, Brookfield, WI/East (20.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1 spg); #21 Davis Larson, Sr., F, Sheboygan, WI/North (11 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.7 apg); #24 Austen Yarian, Sr., F, Cleveland, OH/St. Ignatius (13.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 3.4 apg); #11 Connor Hill, Sr., G, Lenexa, KS/Shawnee Mission South (11.9 ppg, 3.9 apg, 1.6 spg); #1 Tavon Brown, So., F, Columbus, OH, St. Charles Prep (7.1 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 1 bpg)
Mercyhurst: #00 Miykah McIntosh, Jr., G, Pickerington, ONT, Canada/Southwest Christian (14.7 ppg, 3 rpg, 1.1 spg); #2 Zach McIntire, Sr., G, Delaware, OH/Rutherford B. Hayes, Fork Union (10.1 ppg, 4 rpg, 1.1 spg); #11 Daniel Ogele, Sr., F, Chicago, IL/St. Ignatius Prep (12 ppg, 4.9 rpg); #22 Michael Bradley, So., G, San Antonio, TX, Cornerstone Christian, Naval Academy Prep (8.6 ppg, 4.6 apg, 1.7 spg); #33 Cameron Gross, Sr., F, Chicago, IL/Oak Park River Forest, Wabash Valley CC (7.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg)
Fairmont St.: #2 Cole VonHandorf, Sr., G, Covington, KY/Catholic (14.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg) #4 Dale Bonner, So., G, Shaker Heights, OH/Shaker Heights, (21.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 4.6 apg, 2 spg); #10 Isaiah Sanders, Jr., G/F, Sicklerville, NJ/Timber Creek, Notre Dame (OH) (20.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.6 spg) #23 Przemyslaw Golek, So., G/F, Piastow, Poland/St. Maria Goretti (MD) (7.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg) #32 Seth Younkin, So., F, Connellsville, PA/Connellsville (9.1 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 1.1 bpg)
Scouting the Opposition
Mercyhurst: The Lakers are one of the most interesting teams in the NCAA Division II Tournament field in 2021. On paper, Mercyhurst is one of the best teams in the country – an undefeated squad with the nation's second-best defense and a No. 3 ranking in the most recent NABC Division II poll.
But, through no fault of their own, the Lakers were unable to test themselves in the regular season. When the PSAC cancelled its conference season, Mercyhurst was left to cobble together whatever schedule it could to reach the NCAA qualifying minimum of 11 games. Of those 11 contests, just four came against teams with winning records, including two against a Gannon squad that largely played the same schools Mercyhurst did.
The Lakers did get a quality win over GLIAC Tourney champion Ashland, 73-59, on Dec. 17, and they do have a legitimately terrifying defense, conceding just 56.2 points per game. Mercyhurst returns two All-PSAC players from 2019-20 in MiyKah McIntosh and Cameron Gross, and have a strong bench led by guard Steve Cannady, who averages 10.5 points per game as the team's sixth man.
This weekend will be a golden opportunity for the Lakers to prove they are what the polls say they are, one of the best teams in the country and a legitimate national championship contender.
Mercyhurst is coached by Gary Manchel, who is in his 18th season with the Lakers. The program's all-time winningest coach at 296-189 overall, Manchel has led the team to 11 straight PSAC tourney appearances, five NCAA Tournament bids, and a Division II Elite Eight appearance in 2018-19.
Fairmont St.: One of the highest-scoring and hottest teams in the country, expect fireworks when the Falcons take the court for the NCAA Tournament this weekend.
Fairmont St. enters the tournament fresh off a 102-99 win over favored West Liberty in the Mountain East Conference tournament title, a victory that likely got them into the field with the MEC's auto-bid.
That win was one of five straight for a high-powered Falcons squad that hasn't scored fewer than 79 points in a game in over a month.
Fairmont St. is led by two guards who both earned first-team All-MEC honors and who each average over 20 points per game in Dale Bonner and Isaiah Sanders. The Falcons aren't deep, often only playing 6 or 7 players regular minutes, but the players they do put on the court are lethal scorers, including guard Cole VonHandorf (14.6 ppg) and super-sub Zyon Dobbs (11.8 ppg).
The Falcons did have a let-down this season against Notre Dame College, but avenged their other three losses in the regular season during their MEC tournament run with wins over Charleston and West Liberty, and have a real shot at taking the regional crown despite coming in as the five seed.
Fairmont St. is coached by Tim Koenig, who is in his second year as the head coach of the Falcons after six years at nearby Notre Dame College. In a short time, Koenig has put up a 38-11 record, earned two NCAA tournament bids, and won an MEC Tournament title.
Scouting the Chargers
At 20-1, Hillsdale won its second-straight G-MAC regular season title and is now looking for its first conference tournament crown since 1995 as the top-seed and host of this weekend's final four
Hillsdale boasts the best combination off offense and defense in the G-MAC this season, as shown by its league best 13.6 point scoring margin. The Chargers have the G-MAC's best scoring defense and the sixth-best scoring defense in the country at 63.1 points conceded per game, and are third in the the conference offensively, scoring 76.7 points per contest.
Unselfish passing and ball movement have been keys to Hillsdale's offensive success. 57% of all of Hillsdale's field goals this season have been assisted, and the Chargers have the best field goal percentage in the G-MAC at 51%, as well as the second-best assist to turnover ratio (1.59).
2020-21 G-MAC Player of the Year Patrick Cartier (20.6 ppg) and All-G-MAC first-teamer Austen Yarian (12.7 ppg) remain the focal point offensively, but the Chargers are getting strong contributions from all five starters, including wing Davis Larson (11 ppg) and point guard Connor Hill (11.5 ppg).
Directing the Chargers for the 14th straight season is head coach John Tharp, who is the all-time winningest coach in program history with a 245-134 record. Tharp became the longest-tenured head coach in Hillsdale men's basketball history at the start of this season, surpassing Dwight Harwood, who coached for 13 years from 1926-34 and 1940-46. Joining Tharp on Hillsdale's bench this year are three new assistants: associate head coach Keven Bradley, as well as assistant coaches Eric Weiss and David Choi.
Other Notes
- Hillsdale stayed at 9th in the NABC Division II top 25 poll this week, the 12th week the Chargers have been ranked in a row. It's the fifth time in program history the Chargers have been ranked for consecutive weeks in the same season in the NABC poll, and the first time since the 2011-12 season. The ranking of 9th is the highest Hillsdale has had since Jan. 11, 2011, when Hillsdale reached its all-time high of 4th in the nation. The Chargers have been ranked in the top 10 for just seven weeks in the poll's history, dating back to 1960, with three of those weeks coming this season.
- Sophomore Patrick Cartier was named the 2020-21 G-MAC Player of the Year last week, the latest honor in one of the finest individual seasons in Hillsdale College men's basketball history. Cartier is one of just four players in Hillsdale College history to win a conference player of the year award, joining Ted Hauptman (1981-82), Dave Springer (1983-84) and Kyle Cooper (2015-16). Cartier leads the G-MAC in scoring (20.6 ppg) and field goal percentage (65.2%) and is currently 8th in the nation in Division II in field goal percentage, with a significantly higher usage rate than any player ahead of him.
- All five of the Chargers' starters earned an All-Conference honor from the G-MAC this season, the first time in recorded program history that five separate players have received conference awards. Cartier and senior Austen Yarian made the All-G-MAC First Team, seniors Davis Larson and Connor Hill earned second-team All-G-MAC honors, and sophomore Tavon Brown was named to the conference All-Defensive team for 2020-21. Head coach John Tharp was also named G-MAC Coach of the Year for the second-straight season.
- Hillsdale has made five NCAA Tournament appearances prior to this season, most recently in 2017-18, with a 1-5 record all time. The Chargers' lone win came on March 8, 2001, when Hillsdale beat Gannon 60-58 in a Midwest Regional Quarterfinal. The Chargers fell in the next round to eventual national champion Kentucky Wesleyan in a 73-71 thriller in the regional semifinal the next night.
- While Hillsdale has only the one NCAA Tourney win, they've had multiple near misses: the Chargers fell to Indianapolis in a 66-62 barn-burner on March 10, 2012, and lost to Southern Indiana in a 95-86 shootout in their first tournament appearance in 1995.