The Hillsdale College men's basketball team needed nearly every second of Friday night's home opener against Wayne State to stay undefeated on the season, but in the end the Chargers got the job done.
A driving layup by senior Kyle Goessler gave Hillsdale a one-point lead over the visiting Warriors with 14 seconds to go, and a steal by Goessler at the other end with seven seconds left led to a pair of free throws that the senior split to give the Chargers a 66-64 edge. Wayne State had one final shot at the win, but a desperation heave from 40 feet didn't fall as the Chargers held on for the victory to improve to 3-0 on the season.
Hillsdale needed a big rally late to get in position to take the game, as Wayne State held a 55-46 lead over the Chargers with eight and a half minutes to play. Over the next five and a half minutes, with its experienced core on the floor, Hillsdale dug in defensively and outscored the Warriors 15-2 to reverse the score and take a 61-57 lead with 3:06 to play. Senior Jack Gohlke led the way during that stretch, scoring seven of his nine points on his only three-point make of the game and back-to-back fade-away jumpers from 18 feet.
Wayne State ended the run with a three-pointer and took the lead on two free throws, 62-61, but Gohlke answered back on another mid-range jumper to put Hillsdale up 63-62 with 1:44 to play. The Warriors retook the lead with 1:21 left, 64-63, to set up Goessler's late-game heroics.
While both Goessler and Gohlke shined late, it was a different senior who was the story of the game for the Chargers. In just his third career start, center Peter Kalthoff paced the Chargers with the best performance of his career, scoring 19 points on 8 of 10 shooting, including 2 of 2 from 3-point range. The senior was Hillsdale's only double-figure scorer at the break, with 13 points, to help give the Chargers a 29-27 edge at halftime.
Gohlke and Cole Nau each chipped in nine points and four rebounds for Hillsdale, Goessler chipped in 10 points, four rebounds and three steals, and Joe Reuter added eight points, six rebounds and three assists for the Chargers.
Off the bench, Eric Radisevic added seven points for Hillsdale, and Charles Woodhams chipped in two points and three rebounds off the bench.
Hillsdale will look to continue its undefeated streak on Sunday as it hits the road to take on another former GLIAC rival, Saginaw Valley State, at 3 p.m. The Cardinals will be looking to bounce back after a rough opening night at Malone that saw SVSU fall 97-53 to the Pioneers in Canton, Ohio, but the Cardinals are a team integrating several new players into the lineup and should make a big leap from game one to game two, making them a potentially dangerous foe for the Chargers.
Photo by David Dermer