In a game with huge G-MAC title implications, and a battle between the two best defenses in the G-MAC, the Hillsdale College men's basketball team made a statement on Thursday night.
The Chargers throttled visiting Walsh defensively, holding the Cavaliers to the second-fewest points they've scored in a game this season in a 66-51 victory to take back sole possession of first place in the G-MAC.
Walsh shot just 33.3% from the floor and 23.1% from 3-point range against an aggressive and tenacious Charger defense that locked down the Cavaliers from the start of the game, holding Walsh's leading scorers, Tim Smith Jr. and Garrison Keeslar, who ordinarily average 30 points between them, to a combined 16 points on the night.
Hillsdale's dominant defense allowed the Chargers to methodically pull away from Walsh in the first half. Hillsdale turned an 8-7 deficit with 12:36 to play in the half to a 17-8 lead in three minutes of play, thanks to an and-one by Charles Woodhams and a 3-pointer by Joe Reuter, and the Chargers never looked back from there, stretching the lead to as many as 17 late in the period.
Walsh hoped to make a run to get back in the game to start the second half, but a Peter Kalthoff layup on Hillsdale's first possession added to the Chargers' lead, and Hillsdale kept the Cavaliers at arm's length throughout the period with efficient offense and continued stellar defense. The Chargers led by as many as 23 in the second half and never let Walsh get back within single digits at any point, despite a late push by the Cavaliers to try and get back into the game.
Offensively, Hillsdale had a balanced and efficient night. Senior Peter Kalthoff led the way with a 17 point, 11 rebound double-double along with two blocks, while fellow seniors Kyle Goessler and Cole Nau each chipped in 10 points, with Guessler adding five assists as well. Senior Jack Gohlke just missed a triple double with nine points and nine rebounds, and Reuter added nine points and eight rebounds as well. Woodhams chipped in seven points and three rebounds off the bench.
The victory means that Hillsdale reaches the 20-win mark for the third straight season, the first time a Chargers team has done that since a four-year streak from 1977 to 1981. At 20-3 overall, 13-3 in the G-MAC, the Chargers now have a one game lead over both the Cavaliers and Ashland in a tight race for the conference title with four games to play.
Hillsdale faces another huge test with Lake Erie, currently fifth in the G-MAC, coming to town on Saturday for the Chargers' final home game of the season at 3 p.m. The Storm are one of three teams to beat Hillsdale this season, handing the Chargers a 67-63 loss on Dec. 31, 2022, and Hillsdale would love to get payback and knock Lake Erie out of the G-MAC title race for good in the process. It's also senior day for the Chargers, who will honor their six seniors -- Nau, Goessler, Gohlke, Kalthoff, Noah Applegate and Jacob Ngobi -- before tip-off.
Photo by Charles Miller