Preview: #15/#16 Chargers begin G-MAC title defense with difficult road contests

Nov 30, 2021

The #15/16 Hillsdale College men's basketball team got through the early nonconference portion of its schedule in solid position, picking up multiple quality regional wins, and now turns its focus to conference play and defending its 2020-21 G-MAC title.

The Chargers will be tested right away with a long road trip and two tough opponents in Kentucky Wesleyan and Trevecca Nazarene. Both teams were G-MAC Tournament qualifiers a year ago and have stocked up on impact transfers in the offseason, making both contests a daunting challenge early in the 2021-22 campaign.

Schedule

#15/16 Hillsdale (4-1, 0-0 G-MAC) at Kentucky Wesleyan (4-2, 0-0) | 8:45 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 2 | Owensboro Sportscenter| Owensboro, KY

#15/16 Hillsdale (4-1, 0-0 G-MAC) at Trevecca Nazarene (3-2, 0-0) | 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 4 | Trojan Fieldhouse | Nashville, TN

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Additional Info

Projected Starters

Hillsdale: #15 Patrick Cartier, So., F, Brookfield, WI/East (25.0 ppg, 4.6 rpg); #24 Austen Yarian, Sr., F, Cleveland, OH/St. Ignatius (9.2 ppg, 7 rpg, 3.8 apg); #1 Tavon Brown, Jr., F, Columbus, OH/St. Charles Prep (7.6 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.6 spg, 1.8 bpg); #2 Kyle Goessler, Jr., F, Brunswick, OH/Brunswick (8 ppg, 3 apg); #5 Cole Nau, Jr., G, Brookfield, WI/Central (3.2 ppg, 3 rpg, 3.8 apg)

Kentucky Wesleyan: #30 Ben Sisson, Jr., F, Fort Thomas, KY/Highlands (16 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 2 apg, 1.2 bpg); #21 JoMel Boyd, Jr., F, Anderson, IN/Anderson/Montana St. Northern (12.7 ppg, 7.7 rpg); #5 Jordan Roland, Jr., G/Flint, MI/Beecher/Notre Dame (OH) (11.7 ppg, 2.3 apg, 1.5 spg); #2 Wyatt Battaile, Sr., G, Pikeville, KY/Pikeville/Louisville (11.2 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 3.8 apg, 1 spg); #0 Antonio Thomas, Jr., G, Memphis, TN/East/Bradley (5.2 ppg, 4.7 apg)

Trevecca Nazarene: #35 CJ Penha, Sr., F, Pickerington, OH/Harvest Prep/Taylor University (20.6 ppg, 10.8 rpg); #25 Josh Price, Jr., G, Charlotte, NC/Carmel Christian/Liberty University (17.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg); #0 Chris Rogers, Jr., G, Harrisonburg, VA/Blueridge (12.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 4.4 apg); #13 Jaylon Tharpe, Sr., F, Clarksville, TN/Clarksville NE/Austin Peay (7.6 ppg, 4 rpg); #23 Brendan Newton, Sr., C, Roanoke, VA/Faith Christian/Liberty University (6.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.6 bpg)

Scouting the Opposition

Kentucky Wesleyan: One of the top teams in the G-MAC last season, the Panthers lost two all-conference players but have reloaded quickly and look like they will be a factor once again.

After two years as a supporting piece, junior Ben Sisson has emerged as one of the top forwards in the G-MAC this season, leading Kentucky Wesleyan in scoring so far. Battle-tested senior Wyatt Battaile, who earned second-team All-G-MAC honors last season, is also off to a strong start.

Key to Wesleyan's title hopes are the play of three new transfers – JoMel Boyd of Montana St. Northern, Jordan Roland from Notre Dame (OH), and Antonio Thomas, a Division I bounce-back from Bradley. It's early but all three have shown promise.

While the Panthers aren't traditionally deep, with just two players off the bench seeing double-digit minutes a game, both players are high-quality and very experienced in seniors Jamil Wilson and Nathan Boyle, both of whom played a significant role on last year's team.

The Panthers are coached by Drew Cooper, who's in his fourth season, with a 26-26 mark in G-MAC play, including back-to-back G-MAC tournament berths.

Trevecca: The eighth seed in last season's G-MAC Tournament, the Trojans have been significantly retooled from last year's squad with the addition of two impact transfers who are averaging a combined 38.4 points per game so far.

Senior CJ Penha, a transfer from NAIA Taylor, and junior Josh Price, the son of former NBA player Mark Price and a transfer from Division I Liberty, have been electric for Trevecca and could turn the Trojans into a contender if they can carry their hot start into G-MAC play.

The Trojans do have some key returnees as well – guards Chris Rogers and Jaylon Tharpe give Trevecca experience and additional scoring punch, while 7-foot-2 center Brendan Newton continues to be impactful on the defensive end.

Trevecca has a strong defense, sitting currently among the G-MAC leaders in defensive FG percentage, defensive rebounding and blocks, but that will be tested this weekend with contests against the top two finishers in the G-MAC in 2020-21.

The Trojans are coached by Omar Mance, who is entering his fourth season with the program. He's compiled a 17-66 record in his time at Trevecca entering this season, and a 17-48 record in G-MAC play.

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 high-volume scorer 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, have moved into the starting lineup to help fill the void, while fellow junior Jack Gohlke, sophomore Noah Applegate and redshirt freshmen Charles Woodhams and Samuel Vasiu, among others, have taken on expanded roles.

Directing the Chargers for the 15^th straight season is head coach John Tharp, who is the all-time winningest coach in program history with a 255-137 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

Kentucky Wesleyan has a 6-5 all-time record against Hillsdale, though the Chargers won both meetings last season to close the gap, including a 66-63 win on the road on Jan. 23. Hillsdale has never lost to Trevecca Nazarene in nine meetings dating back to 2017, though they had a close call on the road against the Trojans last season in a 56-53 victory.
Hillsdale was picked as the favorite to win the G-MAC crown for the third consecutive year in the conference's Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour, though by only a single vote over conference newcomer Ashland, which made the NCAA Tournament in its final year in the GLIAC last season. 2020-21 G-MAC runner-up Findlay was picked third and 2020-21 G-MAC Tournament champion Malone was picked in fourth.
The Chargers started the season ranked in both the NABC and D2SIDA polls for the first time in school history, and got as high as 7^th in the NABC Poll and tied for 3^rd in the D2SIDA poll. That tie for third place is the highest a Charger men's basketball team has ever been ranked in a national poll in program history. A loss to Ferris St. earlier in November dropped them a bit but they are still ranked 16^th in the NABC poll and 15^th in the D2SIDA poll.
The 2020-21 G-MAC Male Athlete of the Year, Patrick Cartier, continues to excel on the court in his junior season. Cartier has scored 17 or more points in all five of Hillsdale's games so far, and is currently tied for first in the G-MAC and tied for ninth in the nation in points per game with 25.0. On Saturday, Nov. 13, the junior also became the 39^th player in Hillsdale College men's basketball history to surpass 1,000 points for his career with 30 points in a 83-61 win over Northwood.
At 932 points in his career, senior Austen Yarian is fast closing in on joining Cartier as the 40^th Charger to reach 1,000 points in his career. A first-team All-G-MAC player in 2020-21, Yarian scored in double figures in back-to-back games entering this weekend after a slow offensive start.
Hillsdale's team identity under John Tharp is well-known, and it starts with defense – the Chargers lead the G-MAC in scoring defense at 66.2 points per game. Unselfishness and taking care of the ball are also core tenets of the Hillsdale philosophy, and the Chargers also lead the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.07) and are second in assists per game behind Kentucky Wesleyan (17.80).
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.