The Hillsdale College men's basketball team hit a last-second shot to force overtime on Tuesday night, but came up just short in the extra period in a 74-68 road loss to Northern Michigan.
Hillsdale trailed the host Wildcats 59-57 with 16 seconds to play, but senior guard Charles Woodhams got a layup to go with one second left to tie the game, and a desperation heave by NMU at the buzzer didn't go in.
In the extra period, Hillsdale went blow-for-blow with the Wildcats in the first two minutes, matching two NMU buckets with layups by Samuel Vasiu and Mikey McCollum, but couldn't overcome two big 3-point baskets by the Wildcats in a span of a minute that allowed NMU to seize control of the game. The Chargers continued to fight to the final whistle, with Ashton Janowski scoring five points in the final 15 seconds, but NMU made just enough free throws at the line to keep Hillsdale at bay.
Hillsdale led for much of the early contest, coming out strong and leading by as many as 10 points in the first half thanks to a strong defensive effort. But, playing on their home court, the Wildcats slowly heated up, tying the game at 49 apiece with 5:12 to play and pulling ahead seemingly for good on a free throw to take a 58-57 lead with 1:01 left. After missing a chance to go back ahead, the Chargers were forced to foul with 16 seconds left to extend the game, but NMU went just one of two at the line to open the door for the Chargers, and Hillsdale was able to get the basket it needed to stay alive as regulation ended.
The Chargers outshot the Wildcats in live action, with 29 makes to NMU's 26, seven 3-pointers to NMU's six, and a slightly superior shooting percentage, but the Wildcats were able to get to the line consistently and those 16 made free throws proved to be the difference. Hillsdale got just nine free throw attempts and only converted three of them, which proved costly in a game that was so even in so many other areas.
Hillsdale still showed grit on the road with another balanced offensive performance, including five players in double figures. Joe Reuter led the Chargers with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Woodhams chipped in 14 points and freshman Mikey McCollum added 13 points off the bench. Vasiu added 11 points, three assists and two steals and Ashton Janowski chipped in 10 points as well for the Chargers, while CJ Yarian also finished with four points and seven rebounds.
The Chargers fall to 3-1 on the season and will look to regroup over Thanksgiving ahead of another tough contest against a quality opponent, Grand Valley State University, this time at home on Saturday at 3 p.m. GVSU is 2-2 overall but both of its losses came in extremely competitive games against the top two teams in the G-MAC preseason poll, Ashland and Walsh, making them a good test for the Chargers as conference play approaches.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan