With a talented and desperate opponent in town, the 11th-ranked Hillsdale College men's basketball team controlled the action from start to finish to take an impressive 79-70 victory on Thursday.
The Chargers' opponent, Cedarville, knew that a loss to Hillsdale would put their hopes of a G-MAC title on life support, dropping them three games behind the Chargers in the standings with just seven contests remaining for Hillsdale, while giving the Chargers a season sweep of the Yellow Jackets.
Cedarville played like it, pushing the Chargers into an extremely physical, hard-fought contest from the opening tip. Seven minutes in, Hillsdale held a narrow 7-4 lead in a defense-focused clash.
Faced with a tough challenge, the Chargers not only refused to back down but methodically chipped away at the Yellowjackets. Hillsdale exploded with an 11-2 run over three minutes in the first half to turn that 7-4 margin into a 19-6 edge, then continued to push the pace, taking a 28-10 lead with 7:33 to play in the half thanks to another run tha included a transition 3-pointer by senior Jack Gohlke and a tough and-one by senior Kyle Goessler. Cedarville made a late run to close the gap, but Gohlke nailed another 3-pointer, one of four in the first half, to give Hillsdale a 39-26 lead at the break.
In the second half, the Chargers weathered multiple runs and continued to push their advantage, leading 64-41 with 5:43 to play. Still unwilling to give up, Cedarville made a furious late push behind 17 points in four minutes from reserve guard Ethan Sellars, cutting Hillsdale lead from 23 to eight with 27 seconds to go. But the Chargers kept their cool under pressure and converted at the free throw line to take away any hopes of a Yellow Jacket comeback, going a perfect 9 for 9 from the charity stripe in the final two minutes and 20 seconds to seal the victory.
Hillsdale's offense had an excellent night, with four players in double figures and point guard Cole Nau just missing making it five. Nau finished with eight points but set up his teammates with a game-high six assists, as well as two steals.
Goessler led the Chargers offensively with an impressive performance, finishing with 19 points on 6 for 9 shooting from the floor and 7 of 7 from the free throw line, while Gohlke was close behind, with 18 points on 6 of 9 shooting as well. Center Peter Kalthoff added 16 points and nie rebounds as well for the Chargers, while sophomore Joe Reuter chipped in an 11 point, 11 rebound double-double as well.
Off the bench, Charles Woodhams had a strong night for Hillsdale, grabbing seven rebounds, three offensive, and chipping in four points as well. Hillsdale shot an efficient 50% from the floor and feasted at the free throw line, converting 26 of 35 attempts.
Defensively, Hillsdale also had a strong outing in a crucial contest, holding the Yellow Jackets more than 10 points below their season average, and to just 39% shooting from the floor in the victory even with the massive late run by Cedarville that included seven made 3-pointers in five minutes to close the game.
Hillsdale improves to 18-2 overall with the victory, 11-2 in G-MAC play and a perfect 10-0 at home. Thanks to the win over Cedarville, Hillsdale maintains its 1.5 game lead on second-place Walsh with seven conference contests to play, with Ashland sitting 2.5 games back after a loss at Malone and Findlay at three games back. The Chargers head to Northwood this Saturday for a 3 p.m. tip, looking to bank one more victory before a brutal six-game closing stretch that includes five contests against top five teams in the conference, with three on the road.
Photo by Charles Miller