The Hillsdale College men's basketball team entered the 2023-24 season with lots of questions after losing four starters from last year's team, and getting a new head coach.
It's still very early in the season, but the early answers the Chargers are providing are encouraging, to say the least.
Two days after grinding out a hard fought win on the road in their season opener, the Chargers shot the lights out in their home gym, putting up 90 points to beat visiting Saginaw Valley State 90-75 on Sunday afternoon.
The Chargers used an excellent first half at both ends of the floor to build a massive lead, opening the game on a 9-0 run and finishing the period up 44-24. The Chargers shot 54.8% from the floor and knocked down seven 3-pointers at a 41.2% clip to pull away from the Cardinals by a huge margin.
Hillsdale cooled off in the second half as Saginaw Valley turned to full-court pressure to get back in the game, cutting Hillsdale's lead to single digits with under a minute to play. But the Chargers were good enough down the stretch at the free throw line to hold off the Cardinals, making 23 of 31 free throws in the second half to pull out the victory.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about Hillsdale's offensive performance so far in 2023-24 has been its balance. After finishing with four double-figure scorers in the win over Wayne State on Friday, Hillsdale repeated the feat on Sunday against the Cardinals. Senior Charles Woodhams led the way with 21 points and five rebounds, while junior Joe Reuter chipped in 18 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Hillsdale got huge production from its bench, which contributed 37 of Hillsdale 90 points in the victory. Freshman big man Caleb Glaser was 6 for 6 from the free throw line to finish with 12 points and chipped in four rebounds off the bench, and junior Cole McWhinnie added 12 points on four made 3-pointers, as well as two steals as well. Freshman Mikey McCollum knocked down two more 3-pointers for Hillsdale and finished with eight points, and senior Samuel Vasiu chipped in five points, three rebounds, four assists and three steals.
The Chargers are now 2-0 overall after the first weekend of play, and will look to maintain momentum this coming Thursday with a home contest against U of M-Dearborn at 7 p.m.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan