Saturday's 79-56 win over Walsh didn't clinch a G-MAC title for the Hillsdale College men's basketball team -- in fact, it didn't even get them back into first place in the conference standings.
But if the Chargers somehow end up on the top of the league two weeks from now, it's a victory that will play an important role in how the Chargers got there.
In a game Hillsdale absolutely had to have, against a team that thrashed the Chargers on their home floor back on Jan. 6, and in a hostile environment, Hillsdale played one of its best games of the year, seizing control early in the first half and never letting Walsh back in the game with a dominant effort at both ends of the floor.
The early part of the contest was hard-fought, with several lead changes. Walsh took a 12-10 lead with 14:16 to play in the first half on a Tim Smith Jr. 3-pointer after both teams had traded the lead multiple times.
That would be the last time the Cavaliers had a lead in the game. Junior Patrick Cartier drew a foul on the next possession and hit both free throws to tie the game, the start of a 15-2 Hillsdale run over the next four minutes that helped the Chargers take a double-digit lead into the under-8 media timeout. From there, the Chargers continued to press their advantage, never letting Walsh get back within single digits and expanding the lead to 17 at the half and into the 20s shortly after halftime.
The Chargers won with excellent defense, locking down a Walsh team that came into the game averaging 78.6 points per contest and holding 2,000-point scorer Darryl Straughter to just two points on Saturday. Walsh shot just 34.8 percent from the floor and finished 3 of 23 from 3-point range. And the Cavaliers were controlled inside, losing the rebounding battle 41 to 29 and giving up 42 points in the paint.
Balanced offense helped lift the Chargers to victory as well, with five different players scoring in double figures. Cartier led the way with 19 points and eight rebounds on the night, and senior Austen Yarian chipped in 16 points, nine rebounds and three assists as well. Junior Kyle Goessler added 12 points, three rebounds and three assists, freshman Joe Reuter contributed 11 points off the bench, and junior Jack Gohlke added 10 points and four rebounds.
Hillsdale improves to 16-6 overall, 11-5 in the G-MAC with four games left to play, and remains a game behind the three-way tie for first place between Malone, Walsh and Ashland. All three teams play each other and Findlay, also in the mix at 10-5, multiple times before the end of the season, meaning that if Hillsdale can win out and get a few results to fall their way, the G-MAC regular season title and top seed in the G-MAC tournament is still in play. Next up is a road trip on Tuesday to Lake Erie for a 5 p.m. contest, where the Chargers will look to keep the pressure on the G-MAC leaders with a victory.
Photo by Anthony Lupi