Courtesy | Ashley Van Hoose
The Chargers men’s basketball team went 1-1 this weekend, beating Tiffin University 67-59 Feb. 5 and falling to Ohio Dominican 76-71 Feb. 7 at home, making its season record 9-13.
Sophomore forward Connor Stonebraker made his first career start for the Chargers in their game against Tiffin, leading the team in scoring with 14 points. Junior forward Caleb Glaser added 11 points, and senior guard Cole McWhinnie, freshman forward Tommy Morgan, and freshman guard Braylon Morris each scored 10 points.
The Chargers also made 44% of their shots in the first half and 86% of free throws while keeping Tiffin’s completion rate at 30.5%. At the end of the half, the Chargers were up by 11 points.
“I believe that offensively, we did well at playing the game unselfishly,” Morris said. “Always trying to make the extra pass, always trying to get a good screen to get someone open. Defensively, we did well at playing in the gaps. Tiffin is a team that wants to drive and get into the gaps. We did well that game at understanding that and playing in the gaps to force them to shoot 3s or tough 2s.”
The Chargers maintained their lead through the second half, making nine 3-pointers with six different players hitting at least one to help gain separation from Tiffin. Hillsdale also limited its turnovers, with just nine on the night, and turned 14 Tiffin turnovers into 11 points.
After winning against Tiffin, the Chargers faced Ohio Dominican in their second home game of the week. The Chargers were down 38-23 at the end of the first half.
“I think the big challenge against Ohio Dominican was defending the 3-point line,” Stonebraker said. “They do a great job at running sets and finding guys for open 3s, which we were not able to match on the other end.”
Despite their early deficit, the Chargers fought to recover in the second half. They trailed 55-32 with 13:57 remaining, but over the subsequent 10 minutes, they pieced together a 34-10 run, taking a 66-65 lead with less than four minutes to go. McWhinnie took charge of the game during that stretch, hitting four 3-pointers and scoring 15 of his 17 points to help the Chargers make their way back into the game.
“Although we dug ourselves a hole early in the game, the team stuck together to give ourselves a chance to win in the end,” Stonebraker said. “We were not able to pull it out, but I’m super proud of the effort everyone gave to crawl back into it.”
The Chargers’ comeback was cut short with Ohio Dominican reclaiming its lead in the last few minutes with a few back-to-back shots.
“You really have to take it week to week, win or lose,” head coach Keven Bradley said. “Each week is a new opportunity, and this goes for game-to-game as well. Every game is a new opportunity for us to get back on the floor, grow better, learn and improve, and get a little bit more consistent.”
Despite the effort they gave in the second half, the Chargers lost 76-71 to Ohio Dominican.
“Sports are all about how teams handle both failure and success during the season,” Stonebraker said. “This year, I think the team has done a good job of bouncing back from a tough loss, but we have not yet been able to string a few games together.”
The Chargers are on the road this week, competing at Lake Erie College Feb. 12 and Ashland University Feb. 14.
