The Hillsdale Chargers’ men’s basketball squad split a pair of road games last week, winning Thursday’s trip to Columbus, Ohio, against Ohio Dominican University but falling to Tiffin University on Saturday night.
Against the Ohio Dominican Panthers, who remain winless in conference play on the year, Hillsdale’s experienced team refused to underestimate their opponents and won easily, 74-53.
The Chargers’ defense dominated the Panthers, holding them to 35 percent shooting and forcing 16 turnovers. Although Hillsdale did turn the ball over 17 times, their opponents were unable to capitalize on the mistakes.
Sophomore shooting guard Darius Ware enjoyed a breakout performance with 14 points in only 16 minutes of playing time, highlighted by two first-half slam-dunks. The Chargers were able to take advantage of the Panthers’ poor transition game and score some easy baskets. Hillsdale was led by senior forward Brad Guinane’s double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds.
“Our rebounding was great, which led to a lot of fast-break points,” Ware said.
Saturday’s game against Tiffin was perhaps the most difficult loss of the year for Hillsdale. The Chargers and Dragons went blow-for-blow for most of the game, entering halftime tied at 29. Although Tiffin was able to take a seven-point lead in the second half, Hillsdale managed to chip away at the margin and actually take the lead with a 3-pointer from Guinane with 1:38 to go.
But a sequence of two Tiffin offensive rebounds led to a game-tying long ball with 28 seconds to play, and an unfortunate turnover led to Tiffin getting the last shot.
The buzzer-beating 3-pointer handed Hillsdale their third GLIAC loss of the year and fourth loss overall. A bright spot for the Chargers was sophomore forward Tim Dezelski’s stellar performance, with 12 rebounds and 22 points on over 80 percent shooting from the field.
“We’re just trying to move on from the loss. We still control our own destiny, and if we win out, we’ll have the number one seed for the GLIAC tournament, which is huge,” Dezelski said. “To make the NCAA tournament, we need to make it to the championship game; we’re looking for some redemption from our first round loss last year.”
The Chargers entered last week ranked 23rd in the nation. Falling out of the top 25 leaves Hillsdale with some ground to make up.
“We’re still in a good position for the postseason, as long as we handle our business,” Ware said.
The Chargers play their final regular season home game tonight against Ohio Dominican in a rematch of last week’s contest.
For many Hillsdale basketball fans and especially the players and their families, this Senior Night finale will be memorable, especially as Coach Tharp’s first recruiting class graduates.
“It’s definitely a bittersweet moment,” Guinane said. “I can’t believe how fast these four years have gone by, but I couldn’t have asked for a better place to further my basketball career. I have had so much fun with my coaches and teammates. The support I’ve been given through family, friends, and this campus have been outstanding.”
Six seniors will be honored tonight, including three of the starting five (Guinane, point guard Tyler Gerber, and forward Brent Eaton). But the festivities won’t distract the Chargers, who will look to beat the Panthers yet again and play another home game — this time, in the GLIAC Championships.
