The men’s basketball team opened the season with back-to-back wins against the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals, beating the Cardinals 81-69 at home on Nov. 8 and 92-70 away on Nov. 10.

In both games, the Chargers showcased their depth as a team, with nine players playing over 10 minutes.

In game one, at home, redshirt freshman guard Logan Beaston led the team in scoring with 18 points, shooting 6-10 from the three-point arc.

Beaston said he was excited to start in both games and contribute to the two opening wins. 

“I had a lot of fun getting both wins,” Beaston said. “After a long redshirt year, it was great to just get back on the court and contribute.”

Beaston credited his teammates and coaches for his success on the court.

“My job was the easy part to just stand there and shoot,” Beaston said. “The coaches gave us the advantage behind the scenes through game planning the x’s and o’s, and my teammates screening me and giving me open looks, so all the credit goes to them.”

Senior forward Joe Reuter notched a double-double for the Chargers in game one, picking up 10 rebounds and 13 points in their win against SVSU. 

Reuter praised the team as a whole for their ability to communicate well and trust each other on both sides of the ball. 

“It’s always nice to win the first couple of games to ease the nerves,” he said. “It sets the tone for the rest of the season. Going forward, we want to keep the momentum riding. We gave up too many offensive rebounds in the second game, so we can’t be fully satisfied.” 

In game two the Charger offense was spearheaded by redshirt sophomore CJ Yarian, who led the team in scoring and rebounds, putting up 19 points and 11 rebounds to secure a double-double and Hillsdale’s second win of the season. 

Yarian felt confident with the team’s offensive play style and credited his teammates in giving him the opportunities to score and get into a rhythm.

“Whenever you play a team twice, it’s about who can make the better adjustments to be able to win,” he said. “We just had to stick to our game and preparation and we knew we could win.” 

The Chargers shot 50% from three-point range in game one and 55.6% in game two. The Charger defense limited the SVSU offense to under 43% shooting from the field and under 28% from beyond the arc in both games. 

The Chargers are set to play the Judson University Eagles at home on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 3 p.m.