Coming off a one-point loss on Thursday where the Hillsdale College men's basketball team finished with just 52 points, the Chargers responded with the best offensive performance of the season to date on the road on Saturday.
Hillsdale scored a season-high 96 points, shooting 58 percent from the floor and 45 percent from 3-point range to roll past host Tiffin, 96-69.
One of the top performers on the day for the Chargers was junior Jack Gohlke, who had a career afternoon in his first start in a Hillsdale uniform. Gohlke went 9 of 14 from the field and 7 of 12 from 3-point range to finish with a career-high 25 points, and also chipped in six rebounds. Gohlke's seven made 3-pointers were the most by a Charger in a single game in nearly four years, the first time since Stedman Lowry made seven 3s in an 82-72 road win over Cedarville on Jan. 20, 2018.
Gohlke was far from the only Charger to stand out. Hillsdale's leading scorer, junior Patrick Cartier, dominated against an undersized Tiffin front line, going 11 for 15 from the floor for 31 points and chipping in 10 rebounds and six assists for first double-double of the season. Junior Cole Nau chipped in 11 points, five rebounds and six assists as well for Hillsdale, and junior Kyle Goessler added 11 points and three assists to give the Chargers four players in double figures.
Senior Austen Yarian finished with six points, nine rebounds and five assists as well for Hillsdale, which outrebounded Tiffin 44-24 in the paint and finished the contest with 25 assists as a team. Junior Tavon Brown chipped in five points and eight rebounds off the bench as well.
Leading just 19-18 with 9:14 to play in the first half, Hillsdale strung together a 12-2 run over the next three minutes to seize control, then added another 14 points in the final six minutes of the half to take a 45-31 edge into halftime. The Chargers added another 51 points after the break, never letting Tiffin get closer than a 12-point deficit in the second half.
The Chargers improve to 11-4 overall and 6-3 in the G-MAC, remaining just a game out of first place in a tightly contested conference title race as the season hits its halfway point. Hillsdale will look to keep pace with two home games next week, starting with a Thursday night contest against Trevecca Nazarene. Tip-off for that contest is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Photo by Summer Fields