One week to the day after the Hillsdale College men's basketball team couldn't close out a win over Cedarville in a G-MAC Tournament semifinal loss, the Chargers found themselves in the exact same situation against the Yellow Jackets in Friday's NCAA Midwest Regional Quarterfinal at Alumni Hall in North Canton, Ohio.
This time, however, Hillsdale dug deep and willed a different ending, making clutch plays in the final minute and a half for a 68-61 win over Cedarville that keeps the Chargers' season alive and moves them to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Division II Tournament.
Up just 60-57 with under 1:20 to play, Hillsdale got a massive 3-pointer from junior Kyle Goessler, who caught a pass from junior Tavon Brown at the top of the circle, a foot behind the 3-point line, and buried a shot that gave the Chargers much-needed breathing room.
Still, however, Hillsdale had blown a five-point lead to the Yellow Jackets the previous weekend in under 50 seconds in a 68-66 loss, meaning execution down the stretch remained critical. And the Chargers did just that -- on the next possession, junior Patrick Cartier blocked a layup attempt by Cedarville's Branden Maughmer, the hero for the Yellow Jackets last weekend and their top offensive threat in today's contest, for a critical stop. Goessler got the ball and sank both free throws after he was fouled by Cedarville in an attempt to extend the game.
Maughmer hit a 3-pointer with 31 seconds to go to keep Cedarville in striking distance at 65-60, but senior Austen Yarian was 3 for 4 at the line in the final 30 seconds to keep the Yellow Jackets at arms length, and multiple desperation 3-pointers by Cedarville didn't fall as the Chargers held on for the victory.
While the game was close at the end, Hillsdale led for almost all of the contest and never trailed in the second half. Up 14-13 with 14:13 to go in the first half, Hillsdale used a 10-0 run that included back-to-back 3-pointers by freshman Joe Reuter to take a double-digit lead, and extended it to a 39-24 edge at the half.
The Chargers opened the second half by extending the lead to as many as 21 points, and looked to be on the verge of running away with the game. But Cartier, the Chargers' leading scorer in the contest, picked up his third foul with 16:55 left in the game on a charge call, and with him on the bench, Cedarville put on a furious rally, holding the Chargers scoreless for nearly seven minutes and going on a 31-11 run to cut Hillsdale's lead to just one point with 5:20 to play.
Hillsdale, however, was up to the challenge down the stretch, dominating inside and outscoring Cedarville 36-24 on points in the paint. Cartier, who was named the 2021-22 D2CCA Midwest Region Player of the Year earlier this morning, played a big role in that, finishing with a team-leading 20 points on 8 of 13 shooting with eight rebounds and two assists.
But it was far from a solitary effort for the Chargers in the win, as all eight players who saw the floor scored and contributed meaningfully to the win in multiple ways. Junior Jack Gohlke was huge in the first half, scoring 10 of his 12 points to help the Chargers take a big edge into halftime, and Yarian just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Goessler finished with nine points on the night, including his five in the final ninety seconds that put the Chargers over the top, Reuter chipped in eight, and Cole Nau added four points and six rebounds as well.
Ultimately, Hillsdale's balance and offensive efficiency were the difference. The Chargers outshot Cedarville 46.3% to 35.5% from the floor, and 85.7% to 66.7% from the foul line.
Hillsdale, now 21-7 overall, advances to Sunday's NCAA Midwest Regional Semifinal at 5 p.m. at Alumni Hall in North Canton, Ohio. The third-seeded Chargers will play the winner of the quarterfinal between second-seeded Ferris St. and seventh-seeded Findlay for a berth in the Midwest Regional Championship game on Monday. It'll be another chance at revenge for the Chargers no matter who wins, as Hillsdale lost 89-58 to Ferris St. on Nov. 17, 2021, and were beaten twice by Findlay this season. More importantly, it's a chance to keep Hillsdale's season going, and match the team's deepest-ever NCAA Tourney run with a victory.
Photo by Ralph Schudel