It's becoming a familiar, and successful, formula for the Hillsdale College men's basketball team.
For the third game in a row, the Chargers used a blazing hot start at both ends of the floor to build a double-digit halftime lead and roll to a critical conference victory.
This Saturday, the latest victim was visiting Cedarville, which had no answer for Hillsdale at either end of the floor in the first half, falling behind by 27 points at halftime on the way to an 85-71 Charger victory.
Hillsdale's defense put on a dominant performance in the first half, holding the Yellowjackets to just 16 points on 21.2 percent shooting from the floor, including 0 for 10 from 3-point range. That defensive success paired nicely with fireworks at the other end, as the Chargers shot 51.6 percent from the floor and were 5 of 11 from 3-point range to turn the game into a rout early.
A quality opponent, Cedarville battled back with a 55 point second half to make the final score respectable, but the Yellowjackets never got closer to the lead in the second half than the 14-point final margin.
Hillsdale showed great offensive balance in the victory. Big man Patrick Cartier continued his excellent season with 21 points and eight rebounds on 7 of 10 shooting, drawing 10 fouls in the contest. But Cartier had plenty of help in the win.
For the fourth time in five games since entering the starting lineup against Tiffin on Jan. 15, junior Jack Gohlke scored in double figures for the Chargers, finishing with 17 points and six rebounds. Senior Austen Yarian also had an excellent all-around countest with 14 points, six rebounds and five assists for Hillsdale, and junior Cole Nau tied his season high in scoring with 12 points while also dishing out five assists.
Freshman Joe Reuter added 12 points and seven rebounds off the bench for the Chargers, and the only member of Hillsdale's starting five not to reach double figures, junior Kyle Goessler, still made an important contribution, finishing with seven points and five assists of his own.
For the contest, the Chargers shot 60 percent from the floor, dominating Cedarville with 40 points scored in the paint to the Yellowjackets' 26. Hillsdale assisted on 20 of its 30 made baskets and turned the ball over just eight times in the victory, impressive offensive efficiency for a team that's shown rapid improvement in that area over the past few weeks.
The victory keeps the Chargers in a three-way tie for second place in the G-MAC standings at 15-4 overall and 10-3 in the conference, a game behind the current leader, Malone. Hillsdale now gets a full week off to prepare for a trip next Saturday to arch-rival Findlay, another G-MAC title contender, for a 3 p.m. contest on Feb. 5. The Chargers will be looking for vengeance after Findlay handed Hillsdale an 85-68 loss on their home floor on Dec. 18, 2021, earlier this season.
Photo by Summer Fields