The Charger men's basketball team has its first action of the 2021-22 season against an opposing team this Saturday, as Hillsdale meets host and Division I Toledo for an exhibition contest.
Hillsdale is coming off a special 2020-21 season that included a 21-3 record, a G-MAC Regular Season title, and the program's first NCAA Tournament win in two decades. Toledo, as well, has high expectations after a MAC Regular Season title at the Division I level and should be a stiff test for the Chargers to figure out where they stand this season.
All exhibition men's basketball games played at the University of Toledo have free admission, so fans are encouraged to attend. You can also follow along with the live stats link below, as well as a free audio broadcast courtesy of the University of Toledo.
Schedule
Hillsdale (0-0, 0-0 G-MAC) at Toledo (0-0, 0-0 MAC) | 12 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 23 | Savage Arena | Toledo, OH
Follow/Watch
Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Toledo Roster | 2020-21 Hillsdale Stats | 2020-21 Toledo Stats
Players to watch
Hillsdale: #15 Patrick Cartier, So., F, Brookfield, WI/East (16.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg in 2019-20); #24 Austen Yarian, Sr., F, Cleveland, OH/St. Ignatius (11.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.9 apg in 2019-20); #1 Tavon Brown, Jr., F, Columbus, OH/St. Charles Prep (7.1 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.1 bpg); #2 Kyle Goessler, Jr., F, Brunswick, OH/Brunswick (5.5 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 0.9 apg)
Toledo: #5 Ryan Rollins, So., G, Macomb, MI/Dakota (13.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.1 spg); #32 JT Shumate, Jr., F, Newark, OH/Newark, Walsh University (11.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.3 bpg); #4 Setric Millner Jr., Jr., F, Little Rock, AR/Grand Rapids Christian, Northwest Florida St. College (12.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.5 apg) #24 Keshaun Saunders, Jr., G, Brampton, ONT/Orangeville Prep (6.8 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 1.3 apg)
Scouting the Opposition
Last year's Mid-American Conference regular season champions, the Rockets are a consistent winner at the Division I level, with 10 straight .500 or better seasons, all under current coach Tod Kowalczyk, and five 20-plus win seasons.
Toledo returns three starters from a 21-win team last season, led by high-scoring guard Ryan Rollins. Transfer forwards JT Shumate and Setric Millner Jr. were key players in 2020-21 and give the Rockets length and versatility up front.
The Rockets do have a big hole to fill with the graduation of 2020-21 MAC Player of the Year Marreon Jackson, who averaged 18.1 points last year. Toledo will look to several players to fill the void, including talented Boise St. transfer RayJ Dennis, who started 25 games for the Broncos before coming to Toledo, and JuCo transfer Jordan Burge.
Toledo also hopes for better health for 6-10 center AJ Edu, an All-Freshman performer in 2018-19 who's battled injuries each of the last two seasons but could give the team a dominant rim protector if he's fully back to health.
Kowalczyk is in his 12th season at the helm of the Rockets, with a 167-95 record, four MAC West Division titles, two outright MAC titles, and two NIT appearances. He arrived at the Rockets after a successful stint at Division I Green Bay from 2002-10.
Scouting the Chargers:
Hillsdale is looking to build off of one of the most successful seasons in school history in 2020-21, a campaign that saw the Chargers repeat as G-MAC regular season champions, earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time, and reach the Atlantic Regional Final round, with a 21-3 final record.
Three starters return for the Chargers, led by G-MAC Male Athlete of the Year and consensus All-American Patrick Cartier. A 20.5 point per game scorer whose efficient offense consistently draws double-teams in the paint, Cartier has the perfect running mate in fellow first team All-G-MAC forward Austen Yarian, whose versatility and outside shooting touch causes significant matchup issues of his own for opposing defenses.
Also back is junior forward Tavon Brown, whose defense, rebounding and energy were critical to the team's success last season, and who could have another breakout year as his offensive game continues to mature.
The Chargers have big holes to fill with the loss of second team All-G-MAC guards Connor Hill and Davis Larson. Replacing the production and especially the leadership of that back-court will be a significant determining factor in Hillsdale's success in 2021. Two top subs from 2020-21, juniors Cole Nau and Kyle Goessler, are expected to help fill the void, but they'll have to fight for their starting spots as several players, including fellow junior Jack Gohlke and redshirt freshmen Charles Woodhams and Samuel Vasiu, among others, push for bigger roles.
Directing the Chargers for the 15th straight season is head coach John Tharp, who is the all-time winningest coach in program history with a 251-136 record. Returning as assistants on Hillsdale's bench this year are associate head coach Keven Bradley, assistant coach Eric Weiss, and assistant coach David Choi.
Other Notes:
- This meeting will mark the fifth time that Hillsdale has opened the season against Toledo, a Division I school just an hour and a half across the Michigan/Ohio Border, in the last decade. The Rockets have won all four previous meetings, most recently a 79-63 win in 2019, but two of the meetings have been decided by a single point – including a 100-99 two-overtime game in 2014.
- In the 121-year history of Hillsdale College men's basketball, there are just 38 players who've scored 1,000 points in their career. That club should get two new members this season. Junior Patrick Cartier has 943 points and needs just 67 to reach the milestone, while senior Austen Yarian is at 886 points and will be close behind.
- Cartier already has a school record to his name, as his 64.7% career field goal percentage is the best in program history by over three full percentage points. He's one of just four players in Charger men's basketball history to win a conference Player of the Year award, joining Ted Hauptman (1981-82), Dave Springer (1983-84) and Kyle Cooper (2015-16), one of just four players to earn NCAA Division II All-American honors, joining Brad Guinane (2012), Tim Dezelski (2014) and Cooper (2016), and the only player of those four to receive All-American honors from both the NABC and the D2CCA.
- While it's a long road to get there, Hillsdale has the opportunity to chase unprecedented accomplishments in the program's history this year. The Chargers will be in contention for a third-straight G-MAC title, something that's never been done in the history of the program. The Chargers also will be looking for their seventh NCAA Division II tournament appearance in school history, and their first back-to-back appearance since the 2000-01 and 2001-02 teams made it in consecutive years.