After an eleven-game winning streak, the Charger men’s basketball team visited division-rival University of Findlay in a rematch of the two best teams in the GLIAC South. In their first meeting on Dec. 8, Hillsdale edged the Oilers 75-69 to seize control of the division lead.
This time around, the Chargers were not as fortunate.
Findlay’s senior guard Kyle Caiola scored 22 points to lead the Oilers to a 90-73 win. The teams’ difference in shooting clearly drove the final results. Hillsdale shot less than 40 percent from the field, while Findlay made over 60 percent of their field goals. Brad Guinane led the Chargers with 22 points, but the effort wasn’t quite enough.
“When we had turnovers, they were very costly, and they built to plenty of easy points,” said Guinane, who also contributed five rebounds and three steals. “We had a few good possessions in a row in the second half, but they kept right on coming back and hitting their shots, and we couldn’t seize the momentum.
The first half caused most of the problems for the Chargers, as they stumbled out of the gate while Findlay opened with a 10-4 run. The trend continued throughout the first half and at halftime Hillsdale trailed 47-24. The Chargers turned it around on offense in the second half, scoring 49 points, but struggled against the Oilers’ precision shooting and allowing 43 points.
The Chargers were ranked 14th in the nation entering the week, but will likely fall or drop out of the rankings after the loss. However, the team is still on pace to contend for an NCAA playoff birth and maintains the overall lead in the GLIAC.
The Chargers will face Northern Michigan University tonight and Michigan Technological University on Saturday. Both games are at home and will be among the last chances to see the team in the regular season as Hillsdale looks to remain unbeaten at home.
