The Hillsdale College men's basketball team is hoping to get the New Year started right on Sunday.
The Chargers travel to Lake Erie on Jan. 2 looking to pick up another critical G-MAC road win against a dangerous opponent, ahead of a week that includes showdowns against two of the top title contenders in the conference.
Schedule
#21/23 Hillsdale (9-2, 4-1 G-MAC) at Lake Erie (6-4, 1-3 G-MAC) | 1 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 2 | Osborne Center | Painesville, OH
Follow/Watch
Live Stats vs Lake Erie | Video vs Lake Erie | Tickets vs Lake Erie
Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Lake Erie Roster | 2021-22 Hillsdale Stats | 2021-22 Lake Erie Stats
Projected Starters
Hillsdale: #15 Patrick Cartier, So., F, Brookfield, WI/East (23.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg); #24 Austen Yarian, Sr., F, Cleveland, OH/St. Ignatius (10.6 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 3.8 apg); #1 Tavon Brown, Jr., F, Columbus, OH/St. Charles Prep (6.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.1 bpg); #2 Kyle Goessler, Jr., F, Brunswick, OH/Brunswick (8.5 ppg, 3 apg); #5 Cole Nau, Jr., G, Brookfield, WI/Central (3.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 3 apg)
Lake Erie: #2 PJ Jones, Jr., G, Grove City, OH/Grove City (5.9 ppg, 2.3 apg, 1.1 spg); #11 Jordan Burton, So., G, Toledo, OH/Notre Dame College (15.3 ppg, 3.7 apg, 1.4 spg); #12 Caleb Piks, Fr., F, Mentor, OH/Mentor (8.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg); #21 Kevin Peterson, Jr., F, Cleveland, OH/Padua (8.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.3 apg); #34 Jonny Manning, Fr., F/C, Grafton, OH/Midview (10.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1 bpg)
Scouting the Opposition
Lake Erie: The Storm enter the New Year in the bottom half of the G-MAC, but their 1-3 record is deceiving, as Lake Erie took G-MAC leader Malone to OT and hung with Ashland in two of those three losses.
A big factor in the improvement of Lake Erie this season has been the addition of high-scoring combo-guard Jordan Burton from Notre Dame College, giving the team offensive punch from the perimeter it lacked in 2020-21. Jonny Manning and Caleb Piks have also made big strides offensively in their second seasons at Lake Erie.
The Storm have a deep bench that includes two players who started for Lake Erie last season, Jacob Plantz and Jackson Burdyshaw, who are both playing well in reserve roles. Improved offensive output has been critical for Lake Erie, who were at the bottom of the league last year but sit seventh this season with 73.2 points per game so far.
The Storm are coached by Kyle Conley, who has a 51-55 record entering his fifth season in charge at Lake Erie. Conley has made the Storm a tough out in the G-MAC during his tenure, guiding Lake Erie to conference tournament appearances in three of his four seasons and a semifinal appearance in 2017-18.
Scouting the Chargers
Hillsdale saw its G-MAC regular season winning streak halted at 20 games in a home loss to Findlay on Dec. 18, but rebounded with a win over Northwood on Dec. 20 heading into the Christmas Break. While no longer leading in the G-MAC standings, the Chargers are a game back of Malone and still very much in the hunt entering the New Year.
The Chargers are looking to build off of one of the most successful seasons in school history in 2020-21, a campaign that saw Hillsdale 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 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.
Two top subs from 2020-21, juniors Cole Nau and Kyle Goessler, have moved into the starting lineup to help fill the void left by the departures of second-team All-G-MAC honorees Connor Hill and Davis Larson, while fellow junior Jack Gohlke, sophomore Noah Applegate and redshirt freshman Charles Woodhams, among others, have taken on expanded roles.
The Chargers have been dominant defensively so far, giving up a G-MAC low 63.5 points per game that is 22nd in the nation in Division II. Continuing to play tough defense and improving offensively will be key to Hillsdale's hopes of a big run in 2022.
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 260-139 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
- The Chargers are 18-2 all-time against Lake Erie have won four straight against the Storm, including sweeping the season series in 2020-21. Lake Erie's last win against Hillsdale came in a 53-52 final on Feb. 16, 2019.
- 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. Currently, the Chargers are 4-1 in G-MAC play, a half-game behind 4-0 Malone and a half-game ahead of 3-1 Walsh and Cedarville.
- 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 7th in the NABC Poll and tied for 3rd 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. Hillsdale is currently 21st in the NABC poll and 23rd in the D2SIDA poll, and have been ranked in every poll from both outlets this season.
- 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 10 of Hillsdale's 11 games so far, and is currently first in the G-MAC and 10th in the nation at the DII level in points per game with 23.5. His 64.2 field goal percentage is 16th in DII, with at least 30 more attempts than every player ahead of him on the list. On Saturday, Nov. 13, the junior also became the 39th player in Hillsdale College men's basketball history to surpass 1,000 points for his career with 30 points in an 83-61 win over Northwood.
- Senior Austen Yarian joined Cartier on the list of Charger players to surpass 1,000 points for his career, becoming the 40th with 11 points against Northwood on Dec. 20. The 2020-21 first-team All-G-MAC player now has 1,003 for his career, and, with 636 rebounds, is also closing in on breaking into the top 10 all-time at Hillsdale in that stat as well.
- Hillsdale's team identity under John Tharp is well-known, and it starts with defense – the Chargers lead the G-MAC in scoring defense and are 22nd in the nation in DII at 63.5 points per game. Unselfishness and taking care of the ball are also core tenets of the Hillsdale style of play, and the Chargers also lead the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.90) and are second in assists per game behind Kentucky Wesleyan (16.91).
- 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.