Schedule
#14/17 Hillsdale (22-4, 15-4 G-MAC) at Findlay (14-12, 9-9 G-MAC) | 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25 | Croy Gymnasium | Findlay, Ohio
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Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Findlay Roster | Hillsdale Stats | Findlay Stats
Projected Starters
Hillsdale: #2 Kyle Goessler, Sr., F, Brunswick, OH/Brunswick (11.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.6 apg); #3 Jack Gohlke, Sr., G, Pewaukee, WI/Pewaukee (13.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.2 apg); #5 Cole Nau, Sr, G, Brookfield, WI/Central (6.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.1 spg); #20 Peter Kalthoff, Sr., F, Hillsdale, MI/Hillsdale Academy (13.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg); #33 Joe Reuter, So., F, Chippewa Falls, WI/Chippewa Falls (12.8 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1 spg)
Findlay: #2 Nathan Bruns, Sr., F, Chickasaw, OH/Marion Local (15.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1 spg); #4 Deven Stover, Sr., F, Solon, OH/Cleveland St. Ignatius/Cleveland St. (11 ppg, 4.1 rpg); #13 Joey Edmonds, Sr., G, Cincinnati, OH/Wyoming (12.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.3 apg); #20 Andrew Owens, Jr., F, Carmel, IN/Carmel (6.6 ppg); #31 Eisley Swaine, Sr., G, West Yorkshire, England/Queens Ethelburgas/NW Oklahoma State (3 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.2 apg)
Scouting the Opposition
Findlay: A perennial G-MAC title contender and NCAA DII Tournament team, Findlay enters the final week of the season with work to do to make the G-MAC Tournament after a second-half swoon has left them in a precarious position.
Despite a 2-6 record over their last eight games, Findlay remains dangerous – just ask Cedarville, who left Croy Gymnasium with a 70-62 loss this past Saturday.
Two multi-year starters are the top two scorers for the Oilers. First-team All-G-MAC forward Nathan Bruns leads the team in scoring and is one of the top post players in the conference, while senior guard Joey Edmonds is one of the league's best pure shooters.
To that core, Findlay has added additional contributions from returners in bigger roles – senior forward Deven Stover, junior forward Andrew Owens, and sophomore guard Josh Thorbahn – along with an impressive showing from a solid freshman class that includes rotation players Max Roth, Khalil Luster and Jagger Landers.
Scoring hasn't been a problem for the deep, talented Oilers, who are averaging 75 points a game. But Findlay has struggled to stop anyone at the other end of the floor, conceding a G-MAC-worst 75.4 points per game. If the Oilers want to keep their season alive, improved defense in the final week of the regular season will be critical.
Findlay's head coach is Charlie Ernst, who's built an outstanding resume in 12 years at the helm. Ernst had a 245-81 record with the Oilers entering this season, and he's led Findlay to three G-MAC titles, four GLIAC South titles, three GLIAC Tournament titles, seven NCAA Division II national tournament appearances, and two appearances in the NCAA Sweet 16.
Scouting the Chargers
A split last week means that Hillsdale no longer controls its own destiny to host the G-MAC Tournament outright, but the Chargers still can cap the 2022-23 regular season with at least a share of the G-MAC title with a victory over arch-rival Findlay on Saturday.
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 296-148 record, and who became just the 17th active coach in NCAA DII to reach 500 wins with the 90-64 victory at Malone last Thursday. 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
- Already the winningest head coach in Hillsdale College history, John Tharp achieved a special milestone on Thursday, as Hillsdale's 90-64 win over Malone was his 500th win as a college coach. That victory makes him just the 17th active coach at the NCAA DII level to reach the 500 win mark. Tharp is also closing in on another milestone, needing just four victories to become the first Charger men's basketball coach with 300 wins in program history, a possibility as the Chargers look to close out the season strong.
- Findlay has long had control of its series with Hillsdale, with a 56-13 record against the Chargers dating back to the two teams' first meeting in 1985, and including two victories last season. Despite the Oilers' dominance, the series has been much more competitive recently, with Hillsdale actually holding a 5-4 edge in the last nine meetings between the two teams, including an 80-62 victory over the Oilers on Dec. 15.
- Hillsdale is currently in a three-way tie with Ashland and Walsh in the loss column atop the G-MAC standings, but have one game remaining while the other two have to play twice. Hillsdale can clinch a share of the G-MAC title with a win over Findlay on Saturday, Ashland has the head-to-head advantage over Hillsdale, meaning the Chargers need the Eagles to drop at least one of their two remaining games to have a chance at the top overall seed in the G-MAC Tournament that starts next week. You can find the full standings here.
- After starting the 2022-23 season unranked, Hillsdale was ranked 17th in the nation in the NABC national rankings, and 12th in the most recent D2SIDA poll, making this the third consecutive season Hillsdale has spent time in the national top 25 rankings. Hillsdale has spent 13 straight weeks in the national polls this season.
- Hillsdale did something it hasn't done in over 40 years last week, going over 20 wins with two victories. It's the first time the Chargers have had three consecutive 20-win seasons in the NCAA DII era, and the first 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, with a strong finish.
- 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 26 games, and four players are averaging 11 or more points per game, with point guard Cole Nau and reserve 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 13.5 points per game and has been named the G-MAC Men's Basketball Player of the Week three times. Radisevic also is chipping in 5.5 points per contest off the bench for the Chargers as a top post substitute.
- Chargers senior Jack Gohlke had a game to remember in an 82-73 loss to Ashland last Thursday, going 10 for 19 from the 3-point line to tie the Chargers' single-game record set by Tim Homan against Saginaw Valley State on Dec. 13, 2007. Gohlke has worked his way into the Chargers' record books as a sharpshooter – his 170 career 3-pointers are the eighth-most all time by a Hillsdale player, and his 84 3-pointers in 2022-23 are fourth all-time, one behind program great Stedman Lowry's 85 in 2017-18
- Hillsdale's Kyle Goessler has been reliable at the free throw line throughout his career as a Charger, and his 84.3% percentage from the charity stripe to date ranks sixth all-time in Hillsdale history among men's basketball players with at least 100 made free throws – just ahead of former teammate Dylan Lowry (83.8%) and current teammate Joe Reuter (83.1%)
- 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 26 games, the Chargers are giving up just 61.8 points per game, the second-best scoring defense in the G-MAC and 11th in the nation at the DII level. They're accomplishing that feat by holding opponents to 42.7% shooting from the field, and to a 28.9% 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 (29.8) of any team in the G-MAC, and they also take care of the basketball, with a 1.63 assist to turnover ratio, the best in the G-MAC and sixth in the na