The Chargers men's basketball team will help ring in the 2022-23 NCAA DII Men's Basketball season this weekend in Lakeland, Florida at the Small College Basketball Tip-Off Classic.
Hillsdale will get the honor of being the first NCAA DII team to play a regular-season game against another NCAA DII opponent on Saturday, as it kicks off a schedule of five games in the morning with a contest against Dallas Baptist.
The Chargers will close out their time at the prestigious event on Sunday, with an afternoon contest against Valdosta State.
Schedule
Hillsdale (0-0, 0-0 G-MAC) vs Dallas Baptist (0-0, 0-0 Lone Star) | 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 5 | Jenkins Field House | Lakeland, FL
Hillsdale (0-0, 0-0 G-MAC) vs Valdosta State (0-0, 0-0 Gulf South) | 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 6 | Jenkins Field House | Lakeland, FL
Follow/Watch
Live Stats | Video | Tickets for sale on-site | Tournament Info Page
Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | DBU Roster | Valdosta St. Roster | 2021-22 Hillsdale Stats | 2021-22 DBU Stats | 2021-22 Valdosta St. Stats
Players to watch*
Hillsdale: #2 Kyle Goessler, Sr., F, Brunswick, OH/Brunswick (9.8 ppg, 2.8 apg); #3 Jack Gohlke, Sr., G, Pewaukee, WI/Pewaukee (9.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg); #5 Cole Nau, Sr, G, Brookfield, WI/Central (4.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.9 apg, 0.7 spg); #30 Noah Applegate, Jr., F, Mishawaka, IN/Penn (2.6 ppg, 1.5 rpg); #33 Joe Reuter, So., F, Chippewa Falls, WI/Chippewa Falls (7.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 0.6 spg)
Dallas Baptist: #3 Ricky Lujan, Jr., G, Las Cruces, NM/Onate (12.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 3 apg, 1.2 spg); #4 Cameron Kahn, Jr., G, Sulphur Springs, Texas/Sulphur Springs (12.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg); #11 Carson Hughes, Sr., G, Keller, TX/Keller (10 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.4 spg); #23 Austin Garner, Jr., G, Trophy Club, TX/Byron Nelson (10.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.2 spg); #35 Jalen White, Sr., G, Wichita Falls, TX/Burkburnett (7.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg).
Valdosta St.: #1 Jacolbey Owens, Sr., G, Warner Robins, GA/Warner Robins/Gulf Coast CC (15 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 4 apg, 1.7 spg); #2 Maurice Gordon, Sr., F, Macon, GA/First Presbyterian Day/Gulf Coast CC (9 ppg, 4.3 rpg); #3 Cam Hamilton, Sr., G, Charlotte, NC/Vance/UNC Pembroke (13.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.3 spg); #11 Mohamed Fofana, Sr., F, New York, NY/Wings Academy/Palm Beach St. (7.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg); #12 Cam Selders, Jr., G, Morgantown, WV/Garrett College (4.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1 spg).
*Stats from 2021-22 season
Scouting the Opposition
Dallas Baptist: The Patriots are on a strong run in recent years in the Lone Star Conference, with six NCAA Tournament appearances in the last seven years, including last season after posting a 17-12 mark against a tough schedule.
Dallas Baptist is an experienced team that returns seven of their top nine minutes-getters from a squad that knocked off two top five teams in the regular season, led by dynamic All-LSC guards Cameron Kahn and Ricky Lujan, as well as sharpshooters Austin Garner and Carson Hughes.
The Patriots have a tremendously balanced team with five players averaging 9 or more points per game and none averaging over 12.5. That unselfishness, paired with a flexible lineup that allows for multiple lead ballhandlers and profitable switching defensively gives Dallas Baptist a potent combo. DBU plays an up-tempo style that's predicated on forcing turnovers and getting opponents into shootouts offensively.
The Patriots are coached by Dr. Blake Flickner, now in his 18th season with a 304-191 record. Flickner was an assistant at Colorado State and the US Naval Academy before taking the job at DBU, and got his start as a student manager at the University of Kansas.
Valdosta State: Although the Blazers had an unexpected down year in 2021-22, going 11-16 and missing the Gulf South tournament, Valdosta has otherwise been a power in the South Regional at the NCAA DII level.
Last year's rough showing snapped a streak of five consecutive GSC titles and NCAA Tournament appearances, and Valdosta St. is usually one of the toughest outs in the region it occupies, and has made an Elite Eight appearance as recently as 2010.
Although it didn't come together for the Blazers last season, Valdosta State returns a lot of talent from that squad, led by high-scoring guards Jacolbey Owens and Cam Hamilton, whose playstyles compliment each other well, as well as rugged forward Maurice Gordon. Part-time starters from 2021-22, Mohamed Fofana and Cam Selders, will look to cement spots in the starting lineup.
Although Valdosta returns five players with significant starting experience, it also brings in five transfers – JuCo enrollees Lee Flenor and Mike Isler as well as NCAA DI transfer Caden Boser, NCAA DII transfer Jay Rucker, and NAIA transfer Ryan Black. Several of the new faces have significant starting experience as well and should shake up the Blazers' lineup.
Valdosta is coached by Mike Helfer, now in his 17th season with the Blazers, posting a 331-162 record. He's led the Blazers to eight NCAA Tournament appearances, as well as the program's only NCAA DII Elite Eight appearance in 2010.
Scouting the Chargers
Last season was a dream for Hillsdale, as the Chargers finally broke through at the regional level in the NCAA Tournament, winning three straight games to capture the Midwest Region crown and reach the NCAA DII Elite Eight for the first time in program history.
The challenge in 2022-23 for the Chargers is to remain among the elite in the Midwest Region while replacing several key players in the frontcourt. Hillsdale no longer has the only two-time first team NCAA DII All-American in program history as Patrick Cartier has graduated, and also gone are perennial All-G-MAC forward Austen Yarian and key defensive stopper Tavon Brown.
While those shoes will be tough to fill, Hillsdale still has plenty of talent and experience to draw on as the Chargers look to continue their run of recent success. Hillsdale's entire starting backcourt returns intact and those three seniors – point guard Cole Nau and wings Kyle Goessler and Jack Gohlke – will be critical veteran leaders for the squad while also looking to take on more of the team's scoring load.
Also returning is sophomore forward Joe Reuter, who came on after the Christmas Break to become the Chargers' sixth man, and earn G-MAC Freshman of the Year honors in his first collegiate season. With a potential move into the starting lineup in 2022-23, Reuter could be the breakout player of the season in the G-MAC if he can translate his production in a part-time role in 2021-22 into larger minutes.
In the post, veterans Peter Kalthoff, Noah Applegate and Eric Radisevic will compete for bigger roles with incoming freshmen C.J. Yarian and Garrett Bolte as Hillsdale looks to offset some of the lost production from the graduation of its top three post players from last season.
Additional scoring support off the bench could come from a number of sources – sophomores Charles Woodhams and Sam Vasiu will look to carve out bigger roles, while redshirt freshmen Walt Mattingly and Cole McWhinnie will get their first real crack at playing time as well.
Directing the Chargers for the 16th straight season is head coach John Tharp, who is the all-time winningest coach in program history with a 274-144 record. Returning on Hillsdale's bench this year for a third season is associate head coach Keven Bradley, and he will be joined by first-year assistant John Cheng.
Other Notes
- This is the first time the Chargers have ever played either Dallas Baptist or Valdosta State in a men's basketball game during the NCAA DII era, beginning for Hillsdale in 1990.
- This is Hillsdale's first appearance in the Small College Basketball Tip-Off Classic, now entering its sixth year as the premier NCAA DII early-season event on the calendar. The two-day showcase relocated to Lakeland, Florida after several years in Missouri and has expanded the field to 10 teams, bringing together top squads from last year and traditional powers for an event that has one of the top fields in the country on a year-to-year basis. Hillsdale is in a special place in this year's event, kicking off the Classic with a Saturday morning contest against Dallas Baptist. The Chargers and Patriots will be the first two NCAA DII teams in the country to take the court for a regular season game in the 2022-23 season when they meet this weekend.
- Hillsdale has a chance to do something special this year, coming into the season off of back-to-back 20-plus win campaigns. The Chargers have never had three consecutive 20-win seasons in the NCAA DII era, and not since a stretch of four straight from 1977-81 in its NAIA era. Hillsdale is also looking to make an unprecedented third-straight NCAA Tournament after qualifying in both 2021 and 2022.
- As the Chargers turn the page into the 2022-23 season, Hillsdale will look to two players to build off red-hot finishes to the 2021-22 season. After being inserted into the starting lineup against Tiffin on Jan. 15, 2022, then-junior guard Jack Gohlke scored in double-digits in 12 of his final 17 games, including four 20-plus point outbursts, and played a big role in the Chargers reaching the Elite Eight while making the Midwest Regional All-Tournament team. Meanwhile, then-freshman Joe Reuter, after a quiet start to his first college season, scored 21 off the bench on a Jan. 8 win over Malone, the start of a stretch where he scored in double-figures off the bench in 11 of 19 games for the Chargers to earn G-MAC Freshman of the Year honors. Hillsdale is hoping both players can use those strong closing stretches as a springboard to reach even greater heights in the 2022-23 season.
- Already the winningest head coach in Hillsdale College history, John Tharp is fast approaching two major career milestones that he could potentially reach this season if the Chargers have another special year. At 274 wins at Hillsdale, Tharp needs just 26 victories to become the first Charger men's basketball coach with 300 wins in program history, and he's only 23 wins away from becoming the 20th active coach at the NCAA DII level to reach 500 wins for his career as well. Although neither mark will be easy to reach, it's something worth keeping an eye on as the season progresses, especially if Hillsdale gets off to a strong start.