Saturday's 60-54 win over Ohio Dominican wasn't the prettiest victory in the history of Hillsdale College men's basketball.
But when it counted, the Chargers got the job done against the Panthers, showing their grit to gut out an extremely physical contest and pick up their second win in a row to open G-MAC play.
Hillsdale overcame its worst shooting night of the season, as the Chargers were just 39.7% from the floor, as well as a motivated ODU team that refused to go away and battled Hillsdale for every inch of the court.
The Chargers, however, were able to match the Panthers blow-for-blow thanks to a strong performance from their bench, which contributed 22 of Hillsdale's 60 points on the night, and solid defense that held ODU to just 40.4% from the floor as well.
Hillsdale's biggest players also came through when it mattered most. Despite his worst shooting night of the season overall, junior Joe Reuter hit a clutch jumper with 1:59 to go and the Chargers clinging to a 54-53 lead to give Hillsdale breathing room late. On the next possession, sophomore point guard Ashton Janowski got a steal on an errant pass from ODU's Caleb Brooks, then, at the other end, with the shot clock expiring, hit a fadeaway jumper from the baseline for his first basket of the game to give Hillsdale a two-score lead with 1:16 to go. Janowski also sealed the contest with two clutch free throws with 10 seconds to go that ended any chance of ODU rallying.
Beyond the winning baskets, Hillsdale also got heady play from senior guard Samuel Vasiu, who snagged a critical offensive rebound with 40 seconds to go and the Chargers up by four that allowed Hillsdale to run another 10 seconds off the clock.
Both teams traded the lead several times in a back-and-forth first half, but Hillsdale was able to pull ahead midway through the second half, as freshman Mikey McCollum hit a 3-pointer with 13 minutes to play, and senior Charles Woodhams followed up on McCollum's big shot with a basket and free throw and then a 3-pointer on the next two possessions to give Hillsdale a 13-point edge. ODU was able to chip away at the lead over the next seven minutes, however, and give themselves a chance late.
Reuter led the Chargers with 12 points, six rebounds and two steals, while Woodhams just missed a double-double with 10 points, nine rebounds and three assists. McCollum had a huge game off the bench for the Chargers, contributiing 10 points, while Caleb Glaser added four points and six rebounds. Vasiu finished with seven points and two assists as well for the Chargers, and Yarian added four points and seven rebounds.
The Chargers improve to 6-1 overall and 2-0 in G-MAC play, one of just five teams to end the first week of conference competition still undefeated. Hillsdale has a week to its next contest, traveling to Northwood next Saturday, Dec. 9 for a 3 p.m. tip off against its in-state rival.
Photo by Austin Thomason