Preview: Chargers look to head into Christmas on winning note with pair of road contests

Dec 14, 2023

Schedule

#13 Hillsdale (7-1, 3-0 G-MAC) at Malone (5-4, 0-3 G-MAC) | 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 16 | Osborne Hall | Canton, OH

#13 Hillsdale (7-1, 3-0 G-MAC) at Saginaw Valley State (6-3, 1-1 GLIAC) | 1 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 19 | O'Neill Arena | University Center, MI

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Projected Starters

Hillsdale: #2 Ashton Janowski, So, G, Pewaukee, WI/Pewaukee (10.9 ppg); #4 Charles Woodhams, Sr., G, Otsego, MI/Otsego (16.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 2.6 apg); #22 Samuel Vasiu, Sr., G, Grand Rapids, MI/NorthPointe Christian (7.9 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2 spg); #31 CJ Yarian, So., F, Cleveland, OH/St. Ignatius (4.6 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 2.1 apg); #33 Joe Reuter, Jr., F, Chippewa Falls, WI/Chippewa Falls (17.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.5 spg)

Malone: #0 Caleb Conard, So., F/C, Sunbury, OH/Big Walnut (8.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg); #12 Aaron Badibo, Sr, G, London, England/New City College-Hackney/ (16.9 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 1.1 spg, 1.2 bpg); #13 Simon Blair, Sr., G, Greenwich, OH/South Central (18.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 4.8 apg); #14 Carter Piatt, Fr, G, Smithville, OH/Smithville (8 ppg, 3.4 rpg); #15 Tahleik Walker, Sr., G, Columbus, OH/Pickerington Central/Alderson Broaddus (6.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg)

Saginaw Valley State: #1 Freddie McIntosh, Jr, G, Saginaw, MI/Saginaw (14.7 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1 spg); #3 Tre Garrett, Sr., G, Saginaw, MI/Bridgeport (15.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.4 spg); #4 Kevonne Taylor, So, F, Detroit, MI/Chandler Park (8 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.3 bpg); #11 Toodles Seal, Jr., G, Detroit, MI/Henry Ford CC (17 ppg, 6.4 rpg); #23 Ethan Hill, Jr., F, Muskegon, MI/Muskegon (5.1 ppg, 3 rpg)

Scouting the Opposition

Malone: The Pioneers have gotten off to a rough start in G-MAC play, but an 0-3 record undersells a talented team that's going to be a tough out for opponents throughout the season.

Malone is paced by two high-scoring guards. One is veteran senior Simon Blair, a returning starter and four-year player for the Pioneers who's exploded in his senior season, and the other is guard Aaron Badibo, a former junior college transfer who played sparingly for Malone last season but who has become one of the top scoring threats in the conference in 2023-24.

The Pioneers had a third skilled scoring guard early in the season in Ashland transfer Tre Baumgardner, but the senior hasn't played since Nov. 15. In his place the Pioneers have leaned heavily on freshman Carter Piatt, a dangerous outside shooter.

Malone opened the season with five straight wins but have now lost four straight, including three straight losses of five points or less in conference play. The Pioneers will be looking to break the streak and hand Hillsdale its first conference loss this weekend.

Coaching the Pioneers is Charlie Wallrapp, a former Northern Michigan assistant who helped lead the Wildcats to a GLIAC title, NCAA Tournament appearance, and a single-season program wins record in 2022-23 before taking the job at Malone this fall.

Saginaw Valley State: The Cardinals enter the 2023-24 season coming off a 14-15 campaign in 2022-23 that was a step back from recent heights, but with significant talent returning to make up that lost ground this season. SVSU is off to a great start at 6-3, but will be looking to avenge an earlier loss at Hillsdale in November this weekend.

SVSU returns five players who started 10 or more games last season, including a dynamic and experienced guard duo of Freddie McIntosh and Tre Garrett. McIntosh and Garrett combined to average 30 points per game in 2022-23 and are a potent combination for any opponent to try and deal with.

The Cardinals also return a promising post player in Kevonne Taylor, whose 6-10 frame and athleticism made him an imposing defender at the NCAA DII level. To reach their ceiling, SVSU will need Taylor to become a force at the offensive end as well.

New faces in the transfer portal have boosted the Cardinals, led by JuCo transfer Toodles Seals, whose 17 points per game average leads SVSU so far this season.

SVSU is coached by Randy Baruth, now in his 12th season leading the Cardinals, with a 91-144 record overall. Baruth graduated from Dakota Wesleyan University and played for the Tigers.

Scouting the Chargers

It's a new era for the Hillsdale College men's basketball team, as new head coach Keven Bradley begins the 2023-24 era with four new starters on the court after the Chargers graduated six seniors from the 2022-23 squad. Early returns are good so far, as Hillsdale has surged to a 7-1 start that includes quality in-region wins and a 3-0 start in G-MAC play, as well as a spot in the national rankings.

While this season does mark a new beginning for Hillsdale, there's plenty of continuity with the program's recent successes and the foundation built over the past two decades. Before taking the head job this past spring, Bradley spent three seasons as Hillsdale's associate head coach, helping guide the program to a 2020-21 G-MAC title, three 20-plus win seasons and NCAA Tournament appearances, two Sweet 16 appearances, and a 2022 NCAA DII Midwest Regional title and Elite Eight appearance. His background makes him very familiar with the Chargers program and how to keep things rolling.

And while Hillsdale bid farewell to four starters this offseason, several important players return for Bradley in the 2023-24 season, led by the lone starting holdover, junior Joe Reuter, who earned second-team All-G-MAC honors while averaging 12.5 points and six rebounds per game for a 23-win Chargers squad in 2022-23. While Reuter has had a role to play for the Chargers since his first day on campus, this season will be a big chance for the junior to take on a key leadership role with the squad as an upperclassman.

Along with Reuter, Hillsdale also brings back a trio of important substitutes from 2022-23 who look poised to compete for starting roles. Guards Charles Woodhams, a redshirt junior, and Ashton Janowski, a true sophomore, were big in moments off the bench for Hillsdale last season and should see their roles increase in 2023-24, while fellow guards Sam Vasiu and Cole McWhinnie should take on bigger roles as well.

In the paint, Radisevic could step in as the Chargers' post presence after serving as the first big man off the bench in last year's rotation. Redshirt sophomore Walt Mattingly should also see a bigger role, as will redshirt freshmen C.J. Yarian and Garrett Bolte, who will both see their first collegiate action this season.

Hillsdale should also get some quality minutes from a five-player freshman class. Guards Logan Beaston and Mikey McCollum were both proficient scorers at the high school level and could bring some offensive punch, while Caleb Glaser and Connor Stonebraker will get a chance to break into the lineup in the post as well.

A young Chargers squad is looking to keep alive a string of six consecutive seasons with 19 or more wins, a stretch that includes four NCAA Tournament appearances and two G-MAC titles despite tough competition from a league that is rising rapidly in talent and accolades.

Matchup History

The Chargers are 13-6 all time against Malone, including a sweep of last season's matchups, but the overall mark doesn't do full justice to what has been a competitive recent series, with five of the last eight meetings decided by 10 points or less, and a 3-2 mark in the last five contests between the two teams.
Hillsdale is 43-38 all-time against Saginaw Valley St. in another long-running series against a former conference mate in the GLIAC that dates back to the mid-70s. Hillsdale is 4-1 against the Cardinals since joining the G-MAC in the 2017-18 season, including winning two meetings with SVSU last season and taking a 90-75 victory at home earlier this year.

Other Notes

The Chargers were picked to finish sixth in the G-MAC Preseason Poll released in late October. Defending G-MAC Tournament Champion Ashland was picked to win the league, and 2022-23 regular season champion Walsh was picked to finish second. Since joining the league in 2017-18, Hillsdale has never finished worse than third in the final G-MAC standings.
Hillsdale shot up to 13^th in the nation in the D2CSC poll and is receiving votes in the NABC poll this week, thanks to continued strong play and results elsewhere across the nation. Additionally, after several teams in the Midwest Region took losses in the last two weeks, Hillsdale is now the top-ranked team in the D2CSC Midwest Region poll, receiving all six first place votes. Hillsdale has been ranked in at least one poll during the season for each of the last four seasons.
Hillsdale is looking to continue an impressive run of recent success over the last six seasons that includes two G-MAC Championships, four 20-plus win campaigns, four NCAA DII Tournament berths, two Sweet 16 appearances, and a Midwest Regional title and Elite Eight appearance in 2021-22. The Chargers have had 21 or more wins in each of the last three seasons, and made an unprecedented three straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
While Hillsdale graduated four starters and three All-G-MAC players from last season's 23 win team, the Chargers do have significant returning talent, led by junior Joe Reuter. The G-MAC Freshman of the Year in 2021-22 and a second team All-G-MAC honoree in 2022-23, Reuter averaged 12.5 points and six rebounds per game last year as a key player for Hillsdale, and is off to an impressive start, averaging over 17 points and five rebounds in five games this season. His shooting percentages are close to the 50/40/90 mark that's considered a holy grail for efficient basketball scorers, as Reuter is making 50% of field goals, 34.1% of 3-pointers, and 84.4% of free throws so far. With a young squad in 2023-24, the Chargers will lean heavily on his experience and leadership.
Junior Charles Woodhams made an impact off the bench for the Chargers last season, with six double digit scoring games and a season-high of 18 points against Cedarville on Dec. 1. Now in the starting lineup for the Chargers, he's starting to put up those big numbers on a nightly basis. The Otsego, Michigan native is averaging 16.5 points per game and scored a career high 26 points in a tight victory over Lake Erie to open conference play. His 57.8% field goal percentage is stellar for a guard and ranks second among all G-MAC players through five games.
The pair of Reuter and Woodhams has been a special combination for Hillsdale so far this season, as the pair are both in the top 10 in individual points per game in the G-MAC, and the Chargers are one of only two teams along with Malone with multiple players in the top 10 in the G-MAC in points per game.
Redshirt freshman CJ Yarian put together a special performance in his debut for the Chargers, recording 15 rebounds and eight assists in Hillsdale's 71-65 victory over Wayne State on Friday, Nov. 10. It's the most combined rebounds and assists in a single game by a Charger since Matt Mlynarchek put up 16 rebounds and seven assists against Mercyhurst on Jan. 20, 2003, over 20 years ago. The younger brother of three-time All-G-MAC player Austen Yarian, CJ figures to be an important part of the rotation for the Chargers in 2023-24.
Senior Samuel Vasiu is seeing the first consistent minutes of his career for the Chargers in 2023-24, and he's made a huge impact for Hillsdale at the defensive end. Through five games, he's fifth among all G-MAC players with an impressive 2 steals per game.
A consistent theme in the Chargers' success over the last six seasons has been excellent 3-point defense. Through eight games, Hillsdale once again ranks among the leaders in opponent 3-point percentage in both the G-MAC and nationally, with the Chargers' mark of 28.3% leading the G-MAC and residing in the top 20 in all of NCAA DII.