There's a logjam at the top of the G-MAC men's basketball standings, with #20/23 Hillsdale, Walsh, and Malone all tied with one conference loss.
If nothing else, this weekend should help make that picture a little clearer.
The Chargers host both the Cavaliers and Pioneers in contests that carry an outsized impact on the G-MAC title race given how early in the season they fall. While nothing will be decided this weekend, one of the three teams could come out of the two contests with a clear advantage to build off of in the new year depending on how the results fall.
Hillsdale enters the contest with more rest than planned, as the cancellation of Lake Erie game scheduled for Sunday combined with the team's Christmas Break means it's been over two weeks since the Chargers took the court against an opposing team.
You can stream both games at the links below, and you can also listen to the contests on the radio at 99.5 FM The Dale. You can also come cheer on the Chargers in both contests in person as links to ticket sales are also below.
Schedule
Walsh (8-3, 4-1 G-MAC) at #20/23 Hillsdale (9-2, 4-1 G-MAC) | 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 6 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, MI
Malone (10-3, 5-1 G-MAC) at #20/23 Hillsdale (9-2, 4-1 G-MAC) | 3:00 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 8 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, MI
Follow/Watch
Live Stats vs Walsh | Video vs Walsh | Tickets vs Walsh | Live Stats vs Malone | Video vs Malone | Tickets vs Malone
Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Walsh Roster | Malone Roster | 2021-22 Hillsdale Stats | 2021-22 Walsh Stats | 2021-22 Malone 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)
Walsh: #1 Tim Smith Jr., So., F, Cleveland, OH/Lakewood (10.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1 spg); #2 Milan Square, rFr., G/F, Youngstown, OH/Valley Christian (7.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg); #3 Darryl Straughter, Sr., G, Canton, OH/McKinley (14.2 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.5 apg); #12 Caleb Canter, Sr., F, Cincinnati, OH/Moeller (12.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1 spg); #21 Garrison Keeslar, Fr., G/F, Green, OH/Green (15.4 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 4.9 apg, 1 spg)
Malone: #1 Marcus Ernst, Sr., F, Ashtabula, OH/Edgewood (9.4 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 2.2 apg); #5 Jaret Majestic, Sr., G, Malvern, OH/Malvern (14.5 ppg, 2.5 apg, 1.1 spg); #12 Bo Myers, Jr., F, Rockbridge, OH/Rockbridge (17.4 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.3 spg); #14 Bryce Butler, Sr., G, Cincinnati, OH/Clark Montessori/Alderson Broaddus (16.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.4 spg); #30 Levi Seiler, Jr., F, Wauseon, OH/Wauseon (9.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.3 spg)
Scouting the Opposition
Walsh: A perennial title contender in the G-MAC, the Cavaliers had a disappointing year by their standards in 2020-21 but still finished fifth in the league, and look like they're back to being one of the top teams in the conference early on in 2021-22 with quality wins over Ashland and Kentucky Wesleyan.
The Cavaliers run through senior guard Darryl Straughter, a two-time first-team All-G-MAC player, but are in a better position this season thanks to significant improvements from returnees Caleb Canter and Garrison Keeslar. Keeslar in particular has grown into an All-Conference caliber player in his second season, playing at a high level at both ends of the court.
Walsh also was active in the transfer portal this offseason, bringing in California (PA) transfer Tim Smith and West Liberty transfer Owen Hazelbaker. Both players have been a key part of the rotation so far and made an impact in the post, an area where the Cavaliers struggled to get consistent play in 2020-21.
Leading the Cavaliers for the 18th consecutive season is Jeff Young, the all-time winningest coach in Walsh history who just surpassed the 400-win mark for his career earlier this season. Since joining the G-MAC in 2017, Young has led Walsh to four straight winning seasons and the only two NCAA Tournament berths in program history.
Malone: The 2021 G-MAC Tournament champions are firmly in contention for the 2021-22 regular season title with a lineup that's virtually identical to last year's championship squad.
All three of Malone's first-team All-G-MAC players from last season return – point guard Bryce Butler, wing Bo Myers, and center Marcus Ernst – as do starters Jaret Majestic and Levi Seiler, as well as super-sub Justin Miller.
The Pioneers lead the G-MAC in scoring by over five points a game (84.4) and had a nine-game winning streak going before Ashland handed Malone its first G-MAC loss in an upset win on Dec. 29. The return of guard Eli Ramsey from an injury bolsters the depth of a team that leaned heavily on its top six players last season.
Malone was one of only two G-MAC squads to hand Hillsdale a loss last season, and looks like one of the biggest obstacles to the Chargers' hopes of winning a third-straight regular season crown in 2021-22.
The Pioneers are coached by Casey Kaufman, who is entering his seventh year in charge of the Malone program. Under Kaufman, Malone has made five straight G-MAC tournament appearances, including a tourney championship in 2020-21 that led to the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
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 260-138 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 lead an extremely competitive series with Walsh 9-8 after sweeping both meetings last year, and have a winning streak of three straight against the Cavaliers. Hillsdale also holds a 10-5 lead in its all-time series against Malone, though the Pioneers snapped a five game losing streak to the Chargers in a 74-64 win in a G-MAC semifinal in March in their most recent meeting.
- 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 and in a three-way tie with the two teams they play this week, Malone and Walsh, for first place.
- 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 14th 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 23rd 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.