Schedule
#16 Hillsdale (4-0, 0-0 G-MAC) at Davenport (0-2, 0-0 GLIAC) | 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16 | Davenport Student Center | Grand Rapids, MI
Northern Michigan (2-0, 0-0 GLIAC) at #16 Hillsdale (4-0, 0-0 G-MAC) | 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, MI
Follow/Watch
Live Stats | Video vs Davenport (Pay Per View) | Video vs NMU | Tickets vs Davenport | Tickets vs NMU
Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Davenport Roster | Northern Michigan Roster | 2022-23 Hillsdale Stats | Davenport Stats | NMU Stats
Projected Starters
Hillsdale: #2 Kyle Goessler, Sr., F, Brunswick, OH/Brunswick (12.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg); #3 Jack Gohlke, Sr., G, Pewaukee, WI/Pewaukee (9.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.3 apg); #5 Cole Nau, Sr, G, Brookfield, WI/Central (7.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.8 apg, 1.5 spg); #20 Peter Kalthoff, Sr., F, Hillsdale, MI/Hillsdale Academy (11.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.8 bpg); #33 Joe Reuter, So., F, Chippewa Falls, WI/Chippewa Falls (13.8 ppg, 7 rpg, 3.8 apg)
Davenport: #2 Jordan Sterling, Sr., G, Lithonia, GA/Arabia Mountain/Georgia College/Morehouse College (7.5 ppg); #5 Marcedus Leech Jr., So., G, Caruthersville, MO/Jonesboro/Iowa State/Iowa Western CC (21.5 ppg); #11 Jakub Dombek, Jr., Prague, Czech Republic/Get Better Academy/Colorado/Hartford (19.0 ppg, 8.5 rpg); #12 Jaylen Holmes, So., Saginaw, MI/Bridgeport (2.5 ppg, 3 rpg); #40 Jeff Carrier, So., F, Ludington, MI/Mason County Central (10.5 ppg)
Northern Michigan: #4 Max Bjorklund, Sr., Orono, MN/Orono/Bemidji St. (23.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.5 spg); #5 Carson Smith, So., Menomonee Falls, WI/Hamilton Sussex (11.5 ppg, 4 rpg); #24 Brian Parzych, So., G, Milwaukee, WI/Wauwatosa East (11 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3 apg); #25 Dylan Kuehl, Fr., F, Hustisford, WI/Hustisford (13 ppg, 6 rpg); #33 Diego Robinson, Sr., Lansing, MI/Everett/Rochester University (4 ppg, 2.5 rpg)
Scouting the Opposition
Davenport: Coming off a surprise NCAA Tournament berth last year, the Panthers have big shoes to fill with the loss of four starters in the lineup.
Davenport can lean on the lone holdover, Marcedus Leech, a former Division I guard at Iowa State and an explosive scorer who has two 20-plus point games in two outings this season. 6-11 center Jakub Dombek is also averaging 19 points per game and gives the Panthers an imposing inside presence alongside rugger forward Jeff Carrier.
Morehouse State transfer Jordan Sterling, freshmen Jaden Terrell and Luke Bara, and sophomores Jaylen Hodges and Brackton Miller round out the lineup regulars for the Panthers.
Davenport plays an up-tempo, fast and high scoring style, which will make for an interesting contrast against Hillsdale's more deliberate and patient tempo this Wednesday.
The Panthers are coached by Burt Paddock, now in his 15th season leading the Davenport program. Paddock has overseen Davenport's transition to NCAA Division II, and led the team to its first GLIAC Tournament title and NCAA Tournament berth last season.
Northern Michigan: The Wildcats are looking to continue their ascent after posting an 18-12 record and reaching the GLIAC Tournament championship game last season.
Northern Michigan got off to an impressive start this past weekend, scoring 100 points in a win over McKendree and also downing a solid Lewis team to open 2-0 overall.
The Wildcats have a veteran and potent guard trio helmed by leading scorer and GLIAC Preseason Player of the Year Max Bjorklund, who's averaging 23.5 points per game so far this year. Sophomores Carson Smith and Brian Parzych are also scoring in double figures, and freshman Max Weisbrod has been impressive off the bench two games into his career as well.
In the post, NMU has another impressive debutee in freshman Dylan Kuehl. The Wildcats may lean more heavily on freshman Najashi Tolefree and transfer Diego Robinson if Sam Schultz, who played just seven of the 80 minutes available this past weekend, is unable to play.
NMU is coached by Matt Majkrzak, now in his fourth year as head coach. Majzkrak has helped turn the Wildcat program around with strong showings in the GLIAC Tournament after arriving in Marquette following a successful year at Bryant & Stratton College in Wisconsin.
Scouting the Chargers
The Chargers are off to a 4-0 start after a second straight undefeated weekend, the team's best start since the 2015-16 season. Hillsdale has displayed impressive balance so far, though with tougher games to come.
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, Eric Radisevic and Noah Applegate have looked solid in bigger roles 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 – sophomore Charles Woodhams will look to carve out a bigger role, while redshirt freshmen Walt Mattingly and Cole McWhinnie will get their first real crack at playing time as well. True freshman Ashton Janowski is another player to watch who could contribute early on in his college career.
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 278-144 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
- Davenport and Hillsdale have played one time before, an 83-62 Chargers victory in Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena on Nov. 23, 2019. Against Northern Michigan, Hillsdale has a 23-29 record in a long history dating back to 1975, but the Chargers are 10-3 in their last 13 contests against the Wildcats, including a 70-52 win over NMU on Dec. 19, 2019.
- After starting the 2022-23 season unranked, Hillsdale shot up to 16th in the most recent D2SIDA poll, and second in the D2SIDA Midwest Regional rankings, making this the third consecutive season Hillsdale has spent time in the national top 25 rankings. The first NABC regular season Coaches Poll will be released on Nov. 22.
- 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.
- Senior Kyle Goessler has blossomed into a key player for the Chargers so far in the 2022-23 season. Goessler played a big role in all of Hillsdale's victories, scoring 12.5 points per game in Hillsdale's four games while committing just three turnovers in 140 minutes of floor time. Goessler has played especially well late in games, scoring eight of the Chargers' final 11 points in a season-opening 64-57 win over Dallas Baptist, and hitting the go-ahead shot with 14 seconds to play in a 66-64 win over Wayne State last Friday.
- Centers Peter Kalthoff and Eric Radisevic barely saw the court before this season, with just a combined 179 minutes played in the last three years, but have done an admirable job filling the void in the middle left by All-American Patrick Cartier. Kalthoff is averaging 11.3 points per game and had a career-high 19 against Wayne State on Friday, while Radisevic is chipping in 7.5 points per contest off the bench for the Chargers. Both players should only continue improving with more playing time as the season goes on.
- 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 278 wins at Hillsdale, Tharp needs just 22 victories to become the first Charger men's basketball coach with 300 wins in program history, and he's only 19 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 as Hillsdale has gotten off to a strong start.