Schedule
Cedarville (13-5, 6-4 G-MAC) at #11 Hillsdale (17-2, 10-2 G-MAC) | 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, Michigan
#11 Hillsdale (17-2, 10-2 G-MAC) at Northwood (2-17, 2-9 G-MAC | 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28 | Bennett Sports Center | Midland, Michigan
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Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Cedarville Roster | Northwood Roster | Hillsdale Stats | Cedarville Stats | Northwood Stats
Projected Starters
Hillsdale: #2 Kyle Goessler, Sr., F, Brunswick, OH/Brunswick (11.1 ppg, 3 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1 spg); #3 Jack Gohlke, Sr., G, Pewaukee, WI/Pewaukee (11.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.4 apg); #5 Cole Nau, Sr, G, Brookfield, WI/Central (6.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.2 spg); #20 Peter Kalthoff, Sr., F, Hillsdale, MI/Hillsdale Academy (13.1 ppg, 6.5 rpg); #33 Joe Reuter, So., F, Chippewa Falls, WI/Chippewa Falls (13.2 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 2.3 apg)
Cedarville: #1 Jacob Drees, Sr., F, Hilliard, OH/Davidson (14.2 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 4.3 apg, 1.3 spg, 1.9 bpg); #4 Chris Rogers, Sr., G, Harrisonburg, VA/Blue Ridge/Trevecca Nazarene (9.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.5 spg); #5 Grant Whisman, Jr., F, Middletown, OH/Madison (15 ppg, 4.1 rpg); #22 Brayden Sipple, So., G, Blanchester, OH/Blanchester (6.6 ppg); #32 Jayvon Maughmer, Jr., F, Chillicothe, OH/Chillicothe (16.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.5 spg)
Northwood: #0 Xavier Bargesser, So., G, Grass Lake, MI/Grass Lake/Alma College (7.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg); #12 Noah Pruitt, So., G, Okemos, MI/Okemos/Mid Michigan CC (5.3 ppg, 2.1 rpg); #20 Savon Wykle, So., F, Smyrna, TN/Smyrna/Parkland CC (10.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.1 spg); #24 Will Young II, Fr., G, Okemos, MI/Okemos (8.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg); #33 Ethan Dunn, Fr., C, Lansing, MI/East Lansing (2.1 ppg, 2 rpg)
Scouting the Opposition
Cedarville: The G-MAC's best offensive team throughout the 2022-23 season, Cedarville enters Thursday's matchup as a desperate and dangerous opponent.
At 6-4 in G-MAC play, the Yellow Jackets can't afford to take another loss and fall three games behind the conference leader with tough games left on the schedule if it hopes to contend for a conference title.
Cedarville has plenty of firepower to make a stand with. Junior Jayvon Maughmer, the team's lone returning starter from a NCAA Tourney squad in 2021-22, has become a star player in the league, while senior Jacob Drees has also become one of the league's most productive true post players. Sharpshooting junior Grant Whisman completes a deadly trio for the Yellow Jackets.
Sophomore Brayden Sipple and Trevecca Nazarene transfer Chris Rogers round out the starting lineup, and Cedarville has taken advantage of a deep bench led by true freshman guards Kyle Thomas and Ethan Sellars, both of whom are bringing scoring punch in part-time roles for the Yellow Jackets.
Cedarville head coach Pat Estepp is entering his 14th season leading the Yellow Jackets in 2022-23. He's guided Cedarville to six 20-win seasons, a G-MAC championship in 2013, and the first NCAA DII Tournament berth in program history last season.
Northwood: The 2022-23 Timberwolves are as close to a blank slate as you can get -- of its 14 rostered players, only junior De'Arrius Ware returns from 2021-22.
With so much turnover, it's been a rocky ride so far for Northwood, as a mix of JuCo transfers and true freshmen learn how to play together. But there are signs the Timberwolves are starting to figure things out, including a 75-73 OT loss versus a tough Kentucky Wesleyan team in December.
Northwood has solid depth, with 12 players averaging 10 or more minutes on the season so far. Savon Wykle is the team's leading scorer at 10.6 points per game, while junior forwards Anthony Sanders and Ware have also been critical contributors, along with Alma College transfer Xavier Bargesser. Recently, freshman Will Young II has been coming on strong as a perimeter scorer as well.
Ware in particular has been a rim protector for the Timberwolves, leading the G-MAC with 1.9 blocked shots per game. Northwood has been decent defensively, but offense has been a work in progress, with the Timberwolves currently averaging just 55.2 points per game.
Northwood is coached by Lonnie Griffin, who's entering his third season in charge of the Timberwolves after six seasons as an assistant in Midland. Griffin also spent four seasons as the head coach at Delta College, and time as an assistant at Central Michigan, Alma and Grand Valley State.
Scouting the Chargers
Outside of one setback on the road, Hillsdale has been tough to stop this season, currently holding a 17-2 record that tops the Midwest Region and a 10-2 mark that leads the G-MAC with eight regular season games remaining. With several tough road contests at the end of the year, this week is a critical one for the Chargers to bank more conference victories heading into those late season showdowns
The challenge entering 2022-23 for the Chargers was 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 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 are tough to fill, Hillsdale has shown it has plenty of talent and experience to draw on during an impressive start to the 2022-23 campaign. Hillsdale's entire starting backcourt returned intact and those three seniors – point guard Cole Nau and wings Kyle Goessler and Jack Gohlke – have taken on an increased scoring load while also providing key stability and veteran leadership
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 in 2021-22. Now a starter in 2022-23, Reuter has lived up to that potential so far, turning in big performances at both ends of the floor while averaging double figures and leading Hillsdale in rebounding.
In the post, veterans Peter Kalthoff and Eric Radisevic have been just what the Chargers were looking for as an interior tandem, as Hillsdale looks to offset some of the lost production from the graduation of its top three post players from last season. Kalthoff in particular is developing into one of the best post players in the G-MAC and currently leads the Chargers in scoring.
On top of balanced scoring from its starters, the Chargers bench is beginning to perform at a high level as well. Sophomore Charles Woodhams has three double-figure scoring outings this season, all off the bench, giving Hillsdale credible depth. Noah Applegate and Ashton Janowski are also part of the bench rotation for the Chargers.
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 291-146 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
- Hillsdale has a 13-1 series lead over Cedarville, though many contests in the series over the past few years between the two teams have been close. The Chargers won a 72-60 victory at Cedarville on Dec. 1 in the most recent meeting. Hillsdale also has a 49-31 edge all-time over Northwood, with four straight victories in the series, including an 87-69 victory over the Timberwolves earlier this month.
- At 10-2 in G-MAC play, Hillsdale is atop the standings in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. Ashland and Walsh are a game and a half behind the Chargers at 8-3 in conference play, and Cedarville and Findlay are also still close in the race with four losses. You can find the full standings here.
- After starting the 2022-23 season unranked, Hillsdale was ranked 11 in the nation in both the most recent D2SIDA poll, and in the NABC national rankings, making this the third consecutive season Hillsdale has spent time in the national top 25 rankings. Hillsdale has spent nine straight weeks in the national polls this season.
- 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 also is looking to make an unprecedented third-straight NCAA Tournament after qualifying in both 2021 and 2022.
- The Chargers have consistently been excellent at home under head coach John Tharp, finishing with just one home court loss three times (most recently 2020-21) and finishing with just two losses in Hillsdale three more times. 2022-23 has been no different, with Hillsdale going a perfect 9-0 in Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena so far. The Chargers are looking to become the first Hillsdale men's basketball team to go undefeated at home since the 2000-01 team went 14-0 in home contests.
- In dealing with the graduation of All-American center Patrick Cartier, the Chargers have replaced one of the best players in program history with impressive offensive balance. Six different Chargers have led Hillsdale in scoring in the first 19 games, and four players are averaging 10 or more points per game, with point guard Cole Nau and reserves Charles Woodhams each chipping in over six points a game as well. The ability to get significant scoring punch from all five positions is helping the Chargers pose real problems for defenses so far in the 2022-23 season.
- 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 Cartier. Kalthoff is currently second on the team in scoring with 13.2 points per game and was named the G-MAC Men's Basketball Player of the Week last week after a 29 point, 10 rebound performance in a win over Northwood on Jan. 12, while Radisevic is chipping in 5.8 points per contest off the bench for the Chargers. Both players should only continue improving with more playing time as the season goes on.
- The Chargers clamped down in a historic way on opponent Trevecca Nazarene in a 77-36 road win on Saturday, Jan. 21. The 36 points given up by Hillsdale in that contest are the fewest conceded by a Charger squad since a 65-31 win over U of M Dearborn on Nov. 11, 2011, over a decade ago. Hillsdale's all-time record for fewest points conceded in a contest is 5 in a 12-5 pre-shot clock era win over Saginaw Valley State in 1981.
- Hillsdale's Kyle Goessler has been reliable at the free throw line throughout his career as a Charger, and his 82.4% percentage from the charity stripe to date ranks eighth all-time in Hillsdale history among men's basketball players with at least 100 made free throws – just in between recent program greats Stedman Lowry (82.8%) and Nate Neveau (82.3%).
- Over 16 years, there are certain hallmarks that successful Charger basketball teams have in common under head coach John Tharp, and the 2022-23 squad is no different. Through 19 games, the Chargers are giving up just 60.2 points per game, the best scoring defense in the G-MAC and seventh in the nation at the DII level. They're accomplishing that feat by holding opponents to 41.7% shooting from the field, and to a 27.3% mark from 3-point range, the best in the G-MAC and second-best in the nation at the NCAA DII level. The Chargers also keep opponents from getting second-chance opportunities by conceding the fewest rebounds per game (30.4) of any team in the G-MAC, and they also take care of the basketball, with a 1.60 assist to turnover ratio, the best in the G-MAC and fifth in the nation.
- Already the winningest head coach in Hillsdale College history, Tharp is fast approaching two major career milestones that he could potentially reach this season if the Chargers have another special year. At 291 wins at Hillsdale, Tharp needs just 9 victories to become the first Charger men's basketball coach with 300 wins in program history, and he's only six wins away from becoming the 17th 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.