Tied at the half on Saturday, the Hillsdale College men's basketball team put visiting Ashland under lockdown in the final 20 minutes of the game, outscoring the Eagles 36-18 in the second half to roll to a 67-49 home victory on Senior Day.
Ashland shot just 30% from the floor and 1 of 8 from 3-point range in the second halff, unable to solve an aggressive and physical Chargers defense that left the Eagles with little daylight on shot attempts.
Offensively, the Chargers knocked down tough shots after the break to pull ahead. Sophomore Ashton Janowski scored six straight points for the Chargers from 14:14 to 11:09 in the second half to help give Hillsdale a 45-40 edge, then freshman Mikey McCollum stuck a dagger in the Eagles' side with 7:10 to go, hitting a 3-pointer and drawing a foul on the shot, then converting the free throw to give Hillsdale a 55-44 edge and its first double-digit lead of the game.
Not content to keep Ashland at bay, the Chargers kept their foot on the gas and continued to pull away in the game's final minutes. Janowski added four more points, and senior Eric Radisevic put the exclamation point on the victory with a lane-running dunk to give Hillsdale a 65-49 lead with 1:28 to play.
Ashland shot just 2 of 12 from 3-point range against the Chargers, who boast the G-MAC's best 3-point defense, while Hillsdale hit 7 of 19 attempts from deep to pick up a huge advantage. Hillsdale also went 10 of 10 from the line to Ashland's 5 for 9 mark, and the Chargers also conceded just one offensive rebound and no second-chance points against one of the most imposing front lines in the conference.
Janowski led the way for the Chargers with 15 points and three rebounds on 7 of 9 shooting from the floor, while McCollum continued his recent hot streak with three 3-pointers and 12 points off the bench. On a day where he was honored by the program, senior Samuel Vasiu also had a strong game, finishing with 11 points on 4 of 6 shooting, while Charles Woodhams chipped in nine points, four rebounds and three assists, and Joe Reuter aded eight points, six rebounds and three assists.
The victory caps a huge week for the Chargers, who took down two tough foes at home to improve to 16-8 overall, and 11-6 in G-MAC play. With three games remaining in the regular season for the Chargers, Hillsdale sits alone in first place in the standings, and just two games back of G-MAC leader Kentucky Wesleyan. Hillsdale has a real shot to grab a share of the G-MAC title down the stretch if it can win out, but faces a tough road trip next week with games at Ohio Dominican on Thursday and rival Findlay on Saturday, and still needs help from other sources to make a run.
Photo by Austin Thomason