Schedule
Hillsdale (9-4, 4-2 G-MAC) at Trevecca (10-3, 5-0 G-MAC) | 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 11 | Trojan Fieldhouse | Nashville, TN
Hillsdale (9-4, 4-2 G-MAC) at Thomas More (10-5, 5-2 G-MAC) | 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 13 | Connor Convocation Center | Crestview Hills, KY
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Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Trevecca Roster | Thomas More Roster | 2023-24 Hillsdale Stats | 2023-24 Trevecca Stats | 2023-24 Thomas More Stats | G-MAC Standings | G-MAC Stats
Projected Starters
Hillsdale: #2 Ashton Janowski, So, G, Pewaukee, WI/Pewaukee (9.8 ppg); #4 Charles Woodhams, Jr., G, Otsego, MI/Otsego (14.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.8 apg); #22 Sam Vasiu, Sr., G, Grand Rapids, MI/NorthPointe Christian (7.5 ppg, 1.7 spg); #31 CJ Yarian, So., F, Cleveland, OH/St. Ignatius (5.4 ppg, 5.8 rpg); #33 Joe Reuter, Jr., F, Chippewa Falls, WI/Chippewa Falls (15.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.2 spg)
Trevecca: #1 Jamal Cannady, Jr., G, Baltimore, MD/Dunbar/Bryn Athyn (14.8 ppg, 2.4 apg, 1 spg); #3 Lawrence Brazil III, Sr., G, Belleville, IL/West/Missouri-St. Louis, (9 ppg, 2.5 rpg); #14 Jalen Page, Jr., G, Murfreesboro, TN/Blackman/Lee U. (19.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.5 spg); #33 Tommy Gankhuyag, Fr., C, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia/Centerville (OH) (11.9 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 2.8 apg); #55 Peter Lambesis, Sr., G, Mt. Prospect, IL/St. Viator/Illinois Wesleyan U. (13.5 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.9 spg)
Thomas More: #3 Reid Jolly, Sr., G/F, Alexandria, KY/Campbell County (15.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg); #12 Wyatt Vieth, Jr., G, Hebron, KY/Saint Henry (7.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg); #14 Jacob Jones, Jr., G, Jeffersonville, IN/Jeffersonville/Green Bay (11.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 4.5 apg, 1.2 spg); #20 Casey George, Jr., G, Pickerington, OH/North (7.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.8 apg); #24 Kyle Ross, Jr., G/F, St. John, IN/Lake Central/Milwaukee (8.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg)
Scouting the Opposition
Trevecca: A new coach has made a huge difference for the Trojans, who in one offseason have gone from finishing dead last in the G-MAC to leading the conference and contending for a NCAA Tournament berth.
Kevin Carroll has breathed life into the Trevecca Nazarene program in his first season, adding three new starters. Carroll mined the transfer portal effectively for difference-making guards, adding Jalen Page, the current front-runner for G-MAC Player of the Year honors, from Lee University and Jamal Cannady from the DIII ranks. Carroll also got a G-MAC Freshman of the Year contender in Tommy Gankhuyag, who overnight has given the Trojans a credible post presence.
Carroll's imports have meshed well with holdover Lawrence Brazil and Pete Lambesis, themselves transfer prospects from the 2022-23 offseason, to form a formidable starting five. Sophomores Drew Blackston, Josh Goings and Jake Mulder have thrived in new roles as the second unit for the Trojans.
Trevecca has opened the season on fire, averaging a G-MAC best 84.8 points per game, and with so many high-level scorers, will be tough for any team to stop.
Carroll comes to Trevecca after four years as an assistant across town at NCAA DI Lipscomb. A veteran coach, Carroll led DII Maryville from 2010 to 2016 and also spent time at Air Force and the Virginia Military Institute as an assistant.
Thomas More: A newcomer to NCAA DII from the NAIA ranks, Thomas More has made an immediate impact in its new classification, sitting near the top of the G-MAC standings early in the season.
The Saints entered the NCAA DII ranks this season with an experienced roster, including returning NAIA All-American Reid Jolly, the Mid-South Conference player of the year, as well as returning All-Conference players Jacob Jones, a DI transfer from Wisconsin-Green Bay, and Casey George, along with multi-year starter Wyatt Vieth. Another NCAA DI transfer from Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Kyle Ross, has stepped into a bigger role for the team in 2023-24 after playing as a reserve last year.
The Saints are off to a 5-2 start in conference play thanks to an elite defense that's holding opponents to just 63.5 points per game, the best mark in the G-MAC so far. Thomas More also has the league's top assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.56, and keep opponents off the glass with the G-MAC's second-best rate of rebounds conceded.
The Saints have a successful head coach overseeing the transition this year in Justin Ray, now in his sixth season with Thomas More. The former Christian Brothers star entered this season with a .739 career winning percentage and has led the Saints to three consecutive NAIA tournament appearances in the last three seasons, including a final four trip in 2021-22.
Scouting the Chargers
The Hillsdale College Chargers have done a good job with a young squad in new head coach Kevin Bradley's first year in charge. Hillsdale is off to a 9-4 start and their 4-2 mark in conference play keeps them in the hunt for title contention early in the season, but as the G-MAC season wears on, tougher tests await in one of the strongest conferences, top-to-bottom, in the Midwest Region.
While this season does mark a new beginning for Hillsdale, there's plenty of continuity with the program's recent successes and the foundation built over the past two decades. Before taking the head job this past spring, Bradley spent three seasons as Hillsdale's associate head coach, helping guide the program to a 2020-21 G-MAC title, three 20-plus win seasons and NCAA Tournament appearances, two Sweet 16 appearances, and a 2022 NCAA DII Midwest Regional title and Elite Eight appearance. His background makes him very familiar with the Chargers program and how to keep things rolling.
And while Hillsdale bid farewell to four starters this offseason, several important players return for Bradley in the 2023-24 season, led by the lone starting holdover, junior Joe Reuter, who earned second-team All-G-MAC honors while averaging 12.5 points and six rebounds per game for a 23-win Chargers squad in 2022-23. While Reuter has had a role to play for the Chargers since his first day on campus, this season will be a big chance for the junior to take on a key leadership role with the squad as an upperclassman.
Along with Reuter, Hillsdale also brings back a trio of important substitutes from 2022-23 who look poised to compete for starting roles. Guards Charles Woodhams, a redshirt junior, and Ashton Janowski, a true sophomore, were big in moments off the bench for Hillsdale last season and should see their roles increase in 2023-24, while fellow guards Sam Vasiu and Cole McWhinnie should take on bigger roles as well.
In the paint, Radisevic could step in as the Chargers' post presence after serving as the first big man off the bench in last year's rotation. Redshirt sophomore Walt Mattingly should also see a bigger role, as will redshirt freshmen C.J. Yarian and Garrett Bolte, who will both see their first collegiate action this season.
Hillsdale should also get some quality minutes from a five-player freshman class. Guards Logan Beaston and Mikey McCollum were both proficient scorers at the high school level and could bring some offensive punch, while Caleb Glaser and Connor Stonebraker will get a chance to break into the lineup in the post as well.
A young Chargers squad is looking to keep alive a string of six consecutive seasons with 19 or more wins, a stretch that includes four NCAA Tournament appearances and two G-MAC titles despite tough competition from a league that is rising rapidly in talent and accolades.
Matchup History
- G-MAC leader Trevecca will be aiming to snap a lengthy losing streak to the Chargers on Thursday, as Hillsdale is a perfect 13-0 all-time against the Trojans. The Chargers won both meetings last season, by 20-plus points in both outings.
- Hillsdale gets an immediate rematch with Thomas More, who won the first-ever meeting between the two school on Jan. 4, 2024 at the buzzer in a 71-70 thriller less than a week ago.
Other Notes
- The Chargers were picked to finish sixth in the G-MAC Preseason Poll released in late October. Defending G-MAC Tournament Champion Ashland was picked to win the league, and 2022-23 regular season champion Walsh was picked to finish second. Since joining the league in 2017-18, Hillsdale has never finished worse than third in the final G-MAC standings.
- Hillsdale is ranked ninth in the Midwest Region in the latest D2CSC Regional poll, released on Monday. Hillsdale has been ranked in at least one national poll during the season for each of the last four seasons and has been ranked as high as 13th this year.
- Hillsdale is looking to continue an impressive run of recent success over the last six seasons that includes two G-MAC Championships, four 20-plus win campaigns, four NCAA DII Tournament berths, two Sweet 16 appearances, and a Midwest Regional title and Elite Eight appearance in 2021-22. The Chargers have had 21 or more wins in each of the last three seasons, and made an unprecedented three straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
- While Hillsdale graduated four starters and three All-G-MAC players from last season's 23 win team, the Chargers do have significant returning talent, led by junior Joe Reuter. The G-MAC Freshman of the Year in 2021-22 and a second team All-G-MAC honoree in 2022-23, Reuter averaged 12.5 points and six rebounds per game last year as a key player for Hillsdale, and is off to an impressive start, averaging over 15 points and five rebounds in 13 games this season. With a young squad in 2023-24, the Chargers will lean heavily on his experience and leadership.
- Junior Charles Woodhams made an impact off the bench for the Chargers last season, with six double digit scoring games and a season-high of 18 points against Cedarville on Dec. 1. Now in the starting lineup for the Chargers, he's starting to put up those big numbers on a nightly basis. The Otsego, Michigan native is averaging 14.8 points per game and scored a career high 26 points in a tight victory over Lake Erie to open conference play on Nov. 30. His 54.7% field goal percentage is stellar for a guard and ranks fifth among all G-MAC players.
- Redshirt freshman CJ Yarian put together a special performance in his debut for the Chargers, recording 15 rebounds and eight assists in Hillsdale's 71-65 victory over Wayne State on Friday, Nov. 10. It's the most combined rebounds and assists in a single game by a Charger since Matt Mlynarchek put up 16 rebounds and seven assists against Mercyhurst on Jan. 20, 2003, over 20 years ago. The younger brother of three-time All-G-MAC player Austen Yarian, CJ figures to be an important part of the rotation for the Chargers in 2023-24.
- Senior Samuel Vasiu is seeing the first consistent minutes of his career for the Chargers in 2023-24, and he's made a huge impact for Hillsdale at the defensive end. Through 13 games, he's sixth among all G-MAC players with an impressive 1.7 steals per game.
- A consistent theme in the Chargers' success over the last six seasons has been excellent 3-point defense. Through 13 games, Hillsdale once again ranks among the leaders in opponent 3-point percentage in both the G-MAC and nationally, with the Chargers' mark of 26.5% leading the G-MAC and ranking third in the nation among all NCAA DII teams. That's helped Hillsdale hold opponents to 63.7 points per game, second in the G-MAC and eighth in the nation as well.