The Hillsdale College men's basketball team couldn't keep pace with a red-hot Trevecca Nazarene team on the road on Thursday night, falling behind early in a 79-52 loss to the G-MAC-leading Trojans.
Trevecca Nazarene shot a scorching 64% from the floor and 42.9% from 3-point range on the night, using a 14-3 run at the 15 minute mark of the first half to build a double-digit lead. The Chargers battled, cutting the Trojans' advantage to 31-26 with 4:55 to play in the half on a Joe Reuter layup, but another late surge by the Trojans gave Trevecca a 39-28 halftime edge. Hillsdale would never get the deficit back to single digits again, as Trevecca opened the second half with an and-one and steadily pulled away from there.
Reuter did his best to keep the Chargers in the game with an impressive 23 point performance that also included four rebounds, four assists and four steals. Overall, however, Hillsdale just didn't have enough firepower on the night, as the Chargers shot just 33.9% from the floor. The Trojans also took advantage of 12 Hillsdale turnovers, turning them into 14 points the other direction.
Freshman Mikey McCollum finished with 12 points and four rebounds off the bench as well for the Chargers, knocking in four 3-pointers and shooting 36.4% from behind the arc. Charles Woodhams added nine points, four rebounds and three assists as well for Hillsdale.
The Chargers fall to 9-5 overall and 4-3 in G-MAC play, and will continue their road trip on Saturday with a trip to G-MAC newcomer Thomas More for a 3 p.m. contest. It's a critical one for the Chargers against a solid opponent, and also a chance at revenge for Hillsdale after falling to the Saints in the last second of a 71-70 thriller at home just a week ago on Jan. 4.
Photo by Reva Ludwig