Hillsdale may have fallen short in the GLIAC tournament, but their season will continue on March 10 in the 2012 NCAA DII Men’s Basketball Championship tournament.
In the GLIAC tournament, the Chargers beat Ashland University (74-71) and Michigan Technological University (84-62) but then lost to the University of Findlay (71-52) in the final round.
Against Michigan Tech, the Chargers won in commanding fashion. March 3’s game echoed the two teams’ earlier matchup on Jan. 28 — the Chargers dominated in both games.
In the rematch, Hillsdale was led by senior forward Brad Guinane’s shooting. He made 11-of-15 shots, including six 3-pointers, for 30 points — the highest a Hillsdale player has scored this season.
He was frequently set up by senior point guard Tyler Gerber, who had 13 assists.
But against Findlay, the Chargers struggled through a poor shooting performance, particularily in the first half where they shot a miserable 20 percent from the field.
Findlay opened the game with a stunning 24-2 run and Hillsdale found itself in too deep a hole to climb back into the game.
A pair of free throws by junior center Nick Washburn, a dunk by sophomore Darius Ware, and a jumper by Gerber briefly swung the momentum back in the Chargers favor, but the Oilers came right back with free throws of their own and finished the half up 31-10.
In the second half, Hillsdale managed to finally find their shots. They shot 47 percent but still only went 2-of-9 from the 3-point range. But Findlay matched the Chargers bucket for bucket, matching the 40 points Hillsdale scored in the half.
Findlay point guard Kyle Caiola’s 22 points led the Oilers to a GLIAC tournament title.
Despite the loss, the Chargers dropped only one spot in the regional rankings. Findlay jumped to No. 5.
The Chargers will travel to Louisville, Ky., to face off against the No. 6 seed University of Indianapolis in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. Hillsdale will be the No. 3 seed in the Midwest regional.
If the Chargers win their opener, they would face the winner of the University of Southern Indiana/Kentucky Wesleyan College matchup. Hillsdale and Findlay are the two teams representing the GLIAC in this year’s tournament.
“We leave tomorrow evening. It’s going to definitely be hectic, but we’ve got a lot of confidence that we can move on if we execute,” senior forward Brent Eaton said. “The realistic goal for us is to make it to the regional finals.”
The Indianapolis Hounds are led by a high-caliber point guard senior Adrian Moss, who was an honorable mention for the preseason All-American team and is averaging 19.2 points and 5.3 assists per game.
“They’ve got a strong inside presence too, and some shooters who can stretch the floor,” Gerber said. “They’re similar to many of the teams we have faced this year in the GLIAC.”
And, if the Chargers win their next two games, it could lead to a possible rematch with Findlay in the semifinals.
“Which would be a great shot at redemption,” sophomore forward Tim Dezelski said.
At the close of GLIAC play, the team accomplished two important goals: win the GLIAC regular season title and secure an NCAA berth.
“The next step for us is to stay true to our fundamentals and see how far we can go,” said Eaton.