A red-hot stretch for the nationally-ranked Hillsdale College men's basketball team continued on Thursday night, as the Chargers used an impressive shooting performance to pull away from Northwood in an 87-69 home victory.
Led by a career night from senior Peter Kalthoff, the Chargers shot 57.9% from the floor and 58.8% from 3-point range to overcome a strong shooting performance by the Timberwolves that kept Northwood in the game deep into the second half.
Kalthoff was unstoppable on the night, going 14 of 18 from the floor for a career-high 29 points and completing the double-double with 10 rebounds, as well as two assists. The Timberwolves had no answer for Kalthoff down low, as the senior took advantage of multiple different defenders with a full arsenal of post moves and one rim-shaking dunk in the victory.
Sophomore Joe Reuter gave Kalthoff plenty of support offensively with an efficient night of his own, going 5 of 7 from the floor and 3 of 4 from 3-point range to finish with 16 points as well, while Jack Gohlke shot 50% from 3-point range to finish with nine points, and Charles Woodhams added nine points and four rebounds as well for the Chargers.
Hillsdale's shot-making prowess turned what could have been a nervous night into a comfortable victory. The upset-minded Timberwolves bounced back from a 12-point first half deficit with tough shot-making, trailing by just seven points with 11:43 to play in the second half.
But Reuter answered that run with a 3-pointer and a driving layup on back-to-back possessions to stretch the lead back to double digits, and the Timberwolves never got that close again. A 8-0 run that included an and-one by redshirt freshman Walt Mattingly with six minutes to play pushed Hillsdale's lead to 21 and the game out of reach.
The victory over the Timberwolves marks the third-consecutive game the Chargers have exceeded their season scoring average as a team, an encouraging sign that Hillsdale has its offense humming as it heads into a critical portion of the G-MAC schedule. At 15-1 overall and 8-1 in the G-MAC, Hillsdale still leads the conference by a half-game over 7-1 Ashland, and a game and a half over 6-2 Walsh, with the Eagles and Cavaliers set to play on Saturday. The Chargers face Ohio Dominican at 3 p.m. looking to fend off another upset-minded opponent, and maintain their advantage as the G-MAC title race approaches the halfway point.
Photo by Charles Miller