Hillsdale College men’s basketball team wrapped up the regular season, and a GLIAC regular season championship, in spectacular fashion last night, defeating Ferris State University in overtime, 84-83, on a game-winning layup by senior forward Brad Guinane.
The win caps off a very successful season for the Chargers. Since last Thursday’s Senior Night win against Ohio Dominican University, and Saturday’s road victory at Saginaw Valley State University, the Chargers have locked up the best record in the conference.
The Chargers jumped to a 25-8 lead to start the game, but the Bulldogs clawed their way back into the game, entering halftime down by only four.
Ferris State shot a much better percentage in the second half, going from less than 40 percent to 45 percent. The Chargers did shoot consistently well, but lost the turnover margin 14-11, and those extra few shots allowed the Bulldogs to stay within striking distance.
Although Hillsdale also opened the second half strong, the Bulldogs chipped away at the lead and eventually were down five with only seconds to play. A three-pointer and another jumper sent the game to overtime.
In overtime, the Chargers allowed the Bulldogs to build a lead of five points. But after Guinane split a pair of free throws and senior forward Brent Eaton hit a three pointer, Hillsdale drew to within one point with 1:12 to play. After a missed shot by Ferris State, Guinane hit his shot.
“It was just a rebound and put-back on a corner three,” Guinane said. “They had a chance to tie it up with an out-of-bounds play with three seconds left, but they missed.”
Guinane also grabbed the rebound on the Bulldogs’ last miss.
Last night’s win may have been the sweetest of all; during a phone interview with Guinane, he said, “It’s pretty tough to hear anything right now, the team is so excited about this win!”
Senior point guard Tyler Gerber also stressed the excitement of the team at this finish of the regular season.
“Senior Night was a great way to celebrate the accomplishments of this team and for me to reflect on the great friends I’ve made over the past few years, especially my fellow seniors,” he said. “Now it’s up to us keep focused and win the GLIAC tournament.”
As conference champions, Hillsdale will host this year’s GLIAC championships, with their first game in the tournament against the eighth seed, likely Grand Valley State University or Ashland University, next Wednesday. The Chargers closed out the regular season with a 21-4 overall record and a 15-3 mark in conference play.
In the race for an NCAA bid, the Chargers are also in a strong position as the regular season closes. They are placed third in the Midwest Regional rankings, along with two other GLIAC teams – the University of Findlay at No. 7 and Ferris State at No. 9. Hillsdale needs to finish the GLIAC tournament ranked in the top eight regionally in order to qualify for the NCAA tournament.
“We’re excited to be playing at home, we’ve been great there all year,” Eaton said. “But we are still taking it one game at a time and a goal all year has been to win the GLIAC tournament, so this momentum should really help us going forward.”
