Close games have not been kind to the Hillsdale College men’s basketball team this season.
After a 1-2 weekend featuring two tight losses on the road against GLIAC North Division leaders, the Chargers (10-9, 8-7 GLIAC) are now 2-5 in games decided by five points or less.
“We’re putting ourselves in positions to win but we’re not doing enough of the little things that you need to do to pull those games off,” head coach John Tharp said.
Last Thursday, the Chargers travelled to Big Rapids to face first-place Ferris State. Down by seven with 1:25 remaining in regulation, the Chargers used a Kyle Cooper three-point play and a Stedman Lowry four-point play to force overtime.
But Ferris State showed why they’re a nationally-ranked program in the extra session, pulling away for an 85-78 victory.
“We gave up some big late offensive rebounds,” Lowry said. “We’ve just got to finish well.”
With 2:01 remaining in overtime against the Bulldogs, the Chargers forced a miss but Ferris State grabbed the offensive rebound and scored twenty seconds later to grab a critical five point lead.
The Chargers also struggled to take care of the ball, committing 20 turnovers on the night, 14 of which came in the first half.
“I think it just comes down to taking care of the ball,” Cooper said. “If we just cut those turnovers down, all of a sudden that takes away a couple points in transition from those two teams and adds a couple baskets to our score and all of a sudden we win those games.”
On Saturday, the Chargers defeated Grand Valley at home 73-65 thanks to a barrage of 3-pointers.
Nine different players combined to attempt 33 threes, 14 of which found the bottom of the net.
“They packed in tight inside so we decided to shoot the ball from outside,” Cooper said. “It felt like we hit more than we missed.”
On Monday, Hillsdale fell at Saginaw Valley 59-56. The Chargers were held scoreless over the final 2:08 of the game.
Cooper played just 21 minutes against the Cardinals due to foul trouble but still scored 22 points on 8-11 shooting.
Tonight, the Chargers begin an important two-game stretch at Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena.
“To a certain degree this is a make-or-break week for us,” Tharp said. “We haven’t played particularly well at home and that’s a thing we’ve got to change.”
Hillsdale hosts Northwood tonight at 8 p.m. The Timberwolves are just a game behind the Chargers in the North division.
“This is the biggest weekend for us of this whole season right now especially with us battling Northwood for a spot in the GLIAC playoffs,” Cooper said.
The Timberwolves are a talented team led by USC transfer Maurice Jones who is averaging 14.6 points and 6.7 assists per game.
“He’s as exciting a player as I’ve ever seen in our league,” Tharp said. “He can just fly.”
On Saturday at 3 p.m. the Chargers will face Lake Superior State, a team ranked 21st in the nation with a 13-2 record in the GLIAC.
“They are a really great hard-nosed system team that guards and runs their stuff well,” Tharp said. “There isn’t much rest for the weary right now.”
The Chargers have shown they can hang with the great teams, but they need to start defeating them.
“We’re playing good basketball we’ve just got to clean up our turnovers and make sure we take care of the boards more consistently,” Cooper said. “These are a huge couple of wins for us if we can get them.”