Junior Samuel Vasiu grabbed six rebounds against Findlay. Courtesy | Hillsdale College Athletic Department

After avenging a prior loss to the University of Findlay Oilers last Thursday, the men’s basketball team came up short in their first game in the G-MAC tournament to the Thomas More University Saints 72-71, ending any hopes at a G-MAC title. 

Going into halftime, the Chargers found themselves down 40-23, only making nine of their 23 total shot attempts as a team. Hillsdale would begin a comeback in the second half that just fell short, out-scoring the Saints 48-32, making 21 of their 33 field goal attempts. 

With 41 seconds to go in the game, senior guard Charles Woodhams hit a crucial three-point shot to cut a 6-point deficit to 3. Now leading 71-68, Thomas More hit one free throw before missing the second, allowing freshman guard Mikey McCollum to hit another three-pointer cutting the Saints lead to only one, but the 0.2 seconds left on the clock was not enough to complete a comeback. 

“This is a huge learning experience for us,” sophomore C.J Yarian said. “Obviously this isn’t the outcome we wanted but it’s good to look into the future to see that we return to the same team and can carry that forward with more confidence that we had before.”

Woodhams finished with 18 points of his own, as well as seven rebounds and three steals. McCollum finished with eight points, and two rebounds, while freshman forward Caleb Glaser scored in the double-digits with 11 for the third time this season. Off of the bench, Glaser had four rebounds and one assist in 16 minutes of play. 

Additionally, junior forward Joe Reuter finished his first year as team captain with eight points, 11 rebounds, and four assists. After hitting the 1,000 point mark two weeks ago, Reuter finished the season with 420 points, and currently sits at 40th in the all-time Hillsdale points list with 1,018. 

Assuming this is the end of their season, the men’s basketball team finished the year with an 18-10 overall record and a 13-7 G-MAC record under first year head coach Keven Bradley. The Chargers were 12-2 on their home court, while finishing 6-8 in away games. In a defensively dominant year, the Chargers allowed a mere 63.9 points per game, second only to the Walsh University Cavaliers in the G-MAC. 

“Obviously, Coach [Bradley] isn’t new to the program, so he knows and we know the standards that we have for each other and what we hold ourselves to,” Reuter said in January.

If the Chargers are not selected to compete in the NCAA Division II tournament this year during the selection show this Sunday, they will return 14 of their 15 players next season. Only graduating one senior, guard Samuel Vasiu, will leave Bradley’s squad for the 2024-25 season. 

“When coach Tharp announced that I would be replacing him, there was always a moment of uncertainty about how players would react. I’m so incredibly grateful that all 10 guys returned and all five of our freshmen remained committed,” Bradley said in a January interview.