In a physical, back and forth battle with a tough Lake Erie team in both squads' G-MAC opener on Thursday night, the Hillsdale College basketball team's most experienced players came through in a big way in the second half.
Junior Joe Reuter and senior Charles Woodhams combined for 34 of Hillsdale's 43 second-half points in a 76-70 victory, helping the Chargers overcome a seven-point second half deficit to earn a hard-fought conference victory.
Leading 33-32 at halftime, Hillsdale fell victim to an 11-2 Lake Erie run in the first four minutes of the second half that put the Storm in position to take a road victory over the Chargers.
Back-to-back and-one layups by Woodhams and Reuter started the comeback for the Chargers, as the pair combined to score Hillsdale's next 12 points to tie up the game at 49 apiece with 10:24 to play. A Samuel Vasiu 3-pointer on the next possession gave Hillsdale its first lead since the beginning of the second half, and the Chargers would never trail again, pushing the lead to double-digits on a step-back midrange jumper by Woodhams from behind the basket with the shot clock expiring and 4:28 to play.
Lake Erie took advantage of Hillsdale turnovers to cut the lead to three points multiple times with under four minutes to play, but Hillsdale stood fast, going five of six from the free throw line in the final 90 seconds to secure the victory.
Both Woodhams and Reuter finished with career highs in points to help lead the Chargers to victory, with Woodhams going 9 of 12 from the field and 7 of 8 from the free throw line and finishing with 26 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Reuter chipped in 24 points on 7 of 12 shooting from the floor and 8 of 9 from the line, as well as five rebounds, two assists and four steals.
Sophomore Ashton Janowski also finished with 11 crucial first-half points to help get the Chargers to halftime with the lead, and Vasiu chipped in seven points after the break as well. CJ Yarian added four points, six rebounds and two assists for Hillsdale.
With both teams earning several trips to the free throw line on the night, Hillsdale's proficiency from the charity stripe proved critical, as the Chargers combined to go 15 of 18 as a team. Hillsdale also won the rebounding battle against the physical Storm, outrebounding Lake Erie 33 to 25 on the night.
The Chargers improve to 5-1 overall and 1-0 in G-MAC play. Hillsdale will look to keep things rolling this Saturday with another home contest against a dangerous Ohio Dominican team that's coming off a loss at Cedarville. Tip-off is at 3 PM and it's the final chance to catch the Hillsdale men at home for a while, as the Chargers hit the road the following two weekends and don't play again in Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena until Dec. 30 against Grace Christian.
Photo by Austin Thomason