Under two minutes to play in Friday's G-MAC Men's Basketball Tournament semifinal, third-seeded Hillsdale College cut a nine-point deficit to one possession and had the ball with a chance to tie the game with under 30 seconds to play.
But Hillsdale ultimately couldn't complete the comeback, as second-seeded Ashland held off the Chargers for a 76-69 victory to end Hillsdale's G-MAC Tourney run.
A 9-0 Ashland run, coupled with an over five-minute scoring drought by the Chargers, blew open a 60-60 contest late in the second half, and gave the Eagles a seemingly-insurmountable lead with under two minutes to play.
But the Chargers staged a furious rally to give themselves a chance late. Senior Kyle Goessler hit a 3-pointer with 1:23 to play to cut Ashland's lead to 69-63, then, after a Cole Nau steal on an Ashland inbounds pass a couple of possessions later, senior Jack Gohlke hit another 3-pointer to cut the lead to 69-66 with 30 seconds to go.
After Ashland split a pair of free throws at the other end, Goessler hit a second 3-pointer in transition to cut the Eagles' lead to one, 70-69, with 28 seconds to go. After being fouled on the inbounds, Ashland was able to convert both free throws at the line, but that still gave Hillsdale the ball down 72-69 with 27 seconds to play and a chance to take the last shot to force overtime.
However, it was not to be, as the Eagles were able to force a turnover, and then converted two more free throws after Hillsdale was forced to foul. Another Chargers turnover on the ensuing possession sealed the result.
The loss was Hillsdale's third defeat at the hands of Ashland this season, but it was a much tougher fight for the Eagles than the first two meetings. The Chargers had an excellent offensive first half, scoring 40 points to take a three point lead into halftime.
The game slowed down considerably in the second half as both defenses dug in, the lead changing hands multiple times. Hillsdale took a 47-43 lead four minutes into the second half on a jumper by Gohlke, but Ashland punched back with the next five points to move back in front.
Hillsdale tied the game up at 60-apiece on a 3-pointer by Goessler with 6:43 to play, but those were the Chargers' last points for the next five minutes, an ill-timed drought that proved to be too much for Hillsdale to rally from late.
Gohlke led the Chargers with 17 points, three rebounds and two assists, and Joe Reuter chipped in 11 points, three rebounds and three assists as well. Hillsdale got a lift off the bench from Charles Woodhams, who scored 10 points for the Chargers, and Eric Radisevic, who added nine points and four rebounds.
Peter Kalthoff chipped in six points and eight rebounds as well for the Chargers, who fall to 23-6 with the loss.
While Hillsdale is out of the G-MAC Tournament, the Chargers are still expected to make the NCAA DII Tournament as an at-large team, having been ranked second in the Midwest Region in the final NCAA DII Regional Rankings on Wednesday. Eight teams in each region qualify for the NCAA Tournament, with the top five at-large teams being selected along with three automatic bids for the winners of the G-MAC, GLIAC and GLVC Tournaments in the Midwest Region. The selection show will be streamed live on NCAA.com on Sunday, March 5 at 11 p.m.
Photo Courtesy of Walsh Athletics