Winning on the road in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference isn't easy.
But the #6/7 Hillsdale College men's basketball team still gets it done with consistency.
The Chargers picked up their 10th straight victory to open the season on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio, jumping out to a 18-point halftime lead on host Ohio Dominican and continuing to score to fend off a furious comeback attempt by the Panthers in a 80-74 win.
Hillsdale blitzed ODU in the first half, shooting 60% from the floor and knocking down six 3-pointers to fend off an early charge by the Panthers and take a 45-27 advantage into halftime.
In the second half, the Chargers got ODU's best effort, as the Panthers came roaring back with impressive shotmaking over tough Hillsdale defense, pouring in 47 points to make a game of it late.
But even with Ohio Dominican on fire and the momentum tilting against them, the Chargers continued to calmly knock down shots and keep the Panthers at arm's length. Senior center Peter Kalthoff, already off to a great start in 2022-23, played the best game of his collegiate career, winning matchups with a variety of defenders down low, going 2 for 2 from 3-point range and finishing with a career-high 23 points in the victory, along with five rebounds.
Just as encouraging for the Chargers was the play of senior guard Kyle Goessler, who'd been quiet offensively over the last two weeks while recovering from an injury. Goessler looked fully healthy against the Panthers, shooting 70% from the floor and knocking down three 3-pointers to finish with 17 points for the Chargers as well, along with five assists.
Sophomore Joe Reuter was big as well for Hillsdale, finishing with an 11 point, 13 rebound double-double, along with three assists, and junior Noah Applegate hit two 3-pointers and finished with eight points off the bench as well for the Chargers.
Senior Cole Nau added seven points and three assists as well for Hillsdale, and while senior Jack Gohlke had a quiet night offensively for the Chargers, he came up huge in the clutch again late, knocking down two free throws with 12 seconds to play that ended any hope of an Ohio Dominican comeback.
Ohio Dominican was able to stay in the game with impressive offensive efficiency, shooting 45% from the floor and 43.5% from deep. But despite a solid performance, the Panthers couldn't match the Chargers, who knocked down 54.5% of their field goals and outshot ODU from 3-point range with a 44.4% mark.
Perhaps the best mark of Hillsdale's offensive efficiency: the Chargers finished with 18 assists in the victory, and just three turnovers, for an assist to turnover ratio of five. That turnover mark of three ties a decade-old program record set on Nov. 29, 2012, for fewest turnovers by a Hillsdale men's basketball team in a single game.
Hillsdale (10-0, 3-0 G-MAC) is one of only two remaining unbeaten teams in conference play two weekends into the G-MAC schedule, and has arguably its biggest game of the season to date coming up next: a home contest against arch-rival Findlay, another G-MAC title contender, on Thursday, Dec. 15 at 7 p.m. A victory in that contest could pay big dividends down the road, giving the Chargers an early two-game lead in the standings on a foe that's sure to be in the conference title race until the very end.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan