On Monday night in North Canton, Ohio, the Hillsdale College men's basketball team punched its ticket to the last stop on a journey a season, years, and decades in the making.
With a 73-63 victory over fifth-seeded Missouri-St. Louis in the NCAA DII Midwest Regional Final, the third-seeded Chargers are, at long last, Elite Eight bound.
Hillsdale capped an impressive weekend run through the Midwest Regional bracket with a title-worthy performance against the Tritons, weathering an early storm and controlling the second half to lock up the first NCAA Regional title in the program's 30-plus year history as a Division II member.
Trailing 29-28 with 4:52 left in the first half, and having been behind for much of the period, the Chargers closed the half on a 7-0 run that included five points from junior Kyle Goessler to take a 35-29 lead into halftime.
With the momentum on their side, Hillsdale seized control for good to open the second-half, outscoring UMSL 19-8 in the first seven minutes to open up a 17 point lead and put themselves on the verge of history.
A talented and experienced team, UMSL refused to go away, cutting the lead to eight points multiple times in the final six minutes of the game, but every time the Tritons made a push, Hillsdale had an answer. Senior Austen Yarian hit a clutch 3-pointer with 5:24 to play to stretch the lead back to double-digits, and junior Patrick Cartier answered back-to-back UMSL scores with two layups of his own to maintain Hillsdale's edge. Cartier and Goessler also combined to go 6 of 6 from the line in the final 90 seconds to help get Hillsdale over the top.
The Chargers used the same recipe that had been successful all weekend long to clinch the regional title -- balanced, efficient scoring and tenacious, effective defense. Four players scored in double-figures on the night for Hillsdale, led by Cartier, the NCAA Midwest Regional MVP, who finished with a game-high 23 points on 75% shooting from the floor. For the second straight game, Cartier played his best basketball in the second half, scoring 15 of his 23 points in the final 20 minutes to push the Chargers to victory in a tough matchup.
Goessler also had one of his best games as a Charger, finishing with 16 points, three rebounds and three assists as well, while junior Jack Gohlke continued his impressive shooting run in the tournament with 15 points as well to earn a spot on the All-Midwest Region team along with Cartier.
Freshman Joe Reuter chipped in 12 points and five rebounds off the bench, and was critical for the Chargers in pulling out of a rough early start that saw Hillsdale fall into a 16-6 hole five and a half minutes into the game. Reuter had 8 points in three minutes to turn an eight-point UMSL lead into a near-even ball-game, and the Chargers never looked back after that.
While Hillsdale's offense was impressive, shooting 54.3% from the floor and 47.4% from 3-point range, its defense was equally important, holding an UMSL team that had been on fire all weekend to just 43.1% from the floor and 30.8% from 3-point range.
Although they scored a combined eight points between the three of them on the night, it was in this aspect where Yarian and juniors Cole Nau and Tavon Brown shined, helping frustrate a talented Triton roster into one of its worst offensive showings in weeks. Yarian also chipped in eight rebounds and four assists for the Chargers, and Brown added four assists as well.
The title is an accomplishment this core group of Hillsdale players has dreamed of achieving for the last couple of years, after missing out on the NCAA Tourney despite a G-MAC Championship season in 2019-20, and falling in the round of 16 to West Liberty in last season's Atlantic Regional. A rocky midseason stretch kept Hillsdale from winning the G-MAC crown, and a stunning upset at the buzzer left them without a G-MAC Tourney title as well. But when it came time to chase the biggest prize of all, the Chargers came in focused and ready and brought it home.
It's a gratifying moment for head coach John Tharp and his staff of assistants -- Keven Bradley, Eric Weiss and David Choi -- as well. In his 15th season at Hillsdale, Tharp is already the winningest coach all-time in school history, and has taken the team to four of the seven NCAA Tournament appearances in program history. But a truly deep tournament run that saw his team reach the final week of the season had eluded him -- until now. It's a sign that even deep into his tenure, Tharp continues to build the Charger program and find ways to reach new heights.
Hillsdale's spot in the NCAA DII Elite Eight is locked up, and the Chargers will play in a quarterfinal game on Tuesday, March 22 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana, three wins away from what would be the program's first-ever national title. The Chargers will have to wait for the conclusion of play at other regional sites around the country to find out its matchup, so stay tuned to hillsdalechargers.com to find out Hillsdale's game time and opponent for next week's action.