With big showdowns looming for the 11th-ranked Hillsdale College men's basketball team, Saturday's trip to Northwood had the ominous feel of a trap game.
But the Chargers made sure there wasn't going to be a shocking upset with a monster second-half performance, outscoring the host Timberwolves 49-27 in the final period to roll to an 84-54 victory.
Although the Chargers led for almost the entire first half, they had trouble shaking a motivated Northwood team early, as the Timberwolves kept the lead within single digits for most of the first half and trailed by just eight, 35-27 at the break.
Hillsdale came out of halftime and changed that quickly. Northwood initally cut the lead to six points, but the Chargers punched back with a 14-2 run, fueled by strong play at both ends of the floor, over the next five minutes that stretched the lead to 18. With control reestablished, the Chargers continued to pull away to eliminate any hope of a comeback, stretching the lead to over 30 points by the eight minute mark.
Senior center Peter Kalthoff played a big role for the Chargers in the second half, scoring 15 of his game-high 23 points after halftime to go with six rebounds. Jack Gohlke and Kyle Goessler each chipped in a pair of 3-pointers in the second half to help keep the run going, Gohlke finishing with 14 points, four rebounds and three steals and Goessler chipping in 12 points for the Chargers.
Joe Reuter chipped in seven points and six assists for Hillsdale as well in the victory, while Eric Radisevic led a strong bench performance for the Chargers with nine points and three assists in 13 minutes of action.
Strong defense fueled the Chargers' offensive output. Hillsdale turned 15 Northwood turnovers into 24 points at the other end while holding the Timberwolves to just three offensive rebounds and a 2 for 9 performance from 3-point range, giving Northwood no chance at sustaining the kind of offensive output that could allow them to threaten an upset.
At the other end, Hillsdale shot an efficient 56.4% from the floor and 9 of 17 from 3-point range, good for 52.9% from deep.
Hillsdale improves to 19-2 overall and 12-2 in G-MAC play, heading into a critical two week homestand. The Chargers remain in first place in the G-MAC, a game and a half ahead of Walsh, and two and a half games ahead of Ashland, with contests against both back-to-back in Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena, and with that, two chances to create significant separation in the title race heading into a tough three game road trip to end the regular season. First up is the Eagles, who will visit Hillsdale on Thursday, Feb. 2 at 7:30 p.m. for a huge game for both squads.
Photo by Charles Miller