Saturday was not only an opportunity to honor two special seniors for the Hillsdale College men's basketball team.
It was also a chance to make a move in the G-MAC standings with just a handful of games remaining, and Hillsdale made good on both accounts with a 79-67 win over Lake Erie.
The Chargers jumped out to an early 10-2 lead and didn't look back, taking a 38-24 advantage into halftime. Junior Jack Gohlke started the game on fire for Hillsdale with a quick 12 points to put the Chargers ahead by double digits.
Lake Erie made a big push in the second half, cutting Hillsdale's lead to seven on multiple occasions. But the Chargers' advantage inside, with strong play from Patrick Cartier and Austen Yarian, proved to be too much for the Storm to get any closer. Hillsdale stretched the lead back out to 14, then pulled away for good on back-to-back dunks by Cartier with 11:15 to play.
On a day when he was honored for a historic, five-year career with the Chargers, Yarian had a standout game, finishing with a 14-point, 13-rebound double-double and also adding two assists and two blocks. Cartier led the Chargers with 23 points, five rebounds and five assists, and Gohlke added 21 points, four rebounds and four assists as well.
Hillsdale's other graduating player, Tavon Brown, got the start and also had a solid performance, contributing five points, including an impressive dunk off the dribble, as well as seven rebounds and three assists. Junior Kyle Goessler chipped in eight points for the Chargers, and Noah Applegate added five points off the bench.
Hillsdale shot 48.3% from the floor in the win, and had a big edge at the free throw line, making 15 of their 17 attempts compared to Lake Erie's seven free throw makes on 14 attempts. The Chargers also outrebounded the Storm 44 to 26 and outscored Lake Erie 38-26 on points in the paint.
Now 18-6 overall and 13-5 in the G-MAC, Hillsdale is tied for second in conference play with Ashland, a game behind Walsh and a half-game ahead of Malone with two games remaining in the season. The Chargers host Tiffin on Thursday and head to Ashland on Saturday knowing that winning out will guarantee the Chargers at least one more home game in the G-MAC Tournament, and, if Walsh falls in either of its remaining two games, possibly a share of a third-straight regular season G-MAC Championship as well.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan