The Hillsdale College men’s basketball team went 2-1 in the most decisive week of their season to date, falling to the Malone University Pioneers before grabbing wins over the Walsh University Cavaliers and the Lake Erie College Storm, leaving the Chargers sitting at fourth in the conference.
Hillsdale’s overall record moves to 17-6, and 12-5 in conference play. With just three games remaining in the Chargers’ regular season, they sit one half game behind Walsh and Ashland University in first, and are tied for third with Malone, who has played two less games than Hillsdale.
“We had two tough losses back-to-back with Findlay and Malone, and with them being tied for first in the conference, we wanted to get those,” senior forward Austen Yarian said. “We have the opportunity to go play Ashland who’s tied for first and Ashland has to play Findlay, Walsh, and us still so there’s still some hope to come out on top in the conference.”
The week was also marked by personal accolades, as junior forward Patrick Cartier made the cut for the top 50 players in consideration for the Bevo Francis Award. The award is given to the best non-D1 men’s college basketball player in the country.
Cartier averages a conference-best 22 points per game while shooting a conference-best 64.1% from the field. He is also the conference’s tenth best rebounder at 6.1 a game, and seventh in free-throw percentage at 73.5.
“It’s got to be a huge honor for Pat, and it’s a huge honor for our team too, to be witnessing his great success and his ability to put the ball in the rim and also get some rebounds, he can step out and stretch the floor,” Yarian said. “I’d be pretty confident if you put him out against anybody that he’d come out more successful than the other person.”
Yarian had a personal accomplishment of his own this week, as he now ranks in the top ten in program history for career rebounds. The fifth-year is the fifth-best rebounder in the G-MAC, averaging north of seven boards a game, and has led the team in rebounding in eleven games this season. He also ranks sixth in the conference in assists per game and ninth in assist-to-turnover ratio.
“He’s always been a big dude and a solid presence on the inside, but this year especially, he’s really stepped up, focusing on impacting the game in any way he can,” Cartier said. “A lot of times I’m boxing out my guy under the basket, going to grab the rebound, and he skies over the top of me and grabs it. He’s done an awesome job going and getting boards for us this year.”
The Chargers’ week started with a tough loss in Malone last Thursday. The Pioneers had entered the game ranked first in the conference. After a back-and-forth first half, a Pioneer’s run had the Chargers down 11 headed into halftime. The Pioneers held their lead at eight or more points until less than 10 minutes remained in the game.
A pair of big shots from Yarian brought the game within five points with under nine minutes to go, but that’s as close as it got.
“We’ve had a tendency this year to start a little slow, so me and the other starters have taken leadership in that because obviously we’re starting the games,” Yarian said. “We gotta just get the first four minutes of the game and set the tone for the remainder of the game and the rest of the team.”
Yarian finished with a team-high 16 points, followed closely by Cartier, who had 15 points. Each grabbed a team-high five rebounds.
Next up on Hillsdale’s docket was Walsh, who entered the matchup sitting at second in the G-MAC. Midway through the first half, the Chargers cracked the game open, lighting up the Cavaliers for a 17-2 run that helped give them a 17-point lead at halftime.
Hillsdale stayed hot in the second half, keeping its lead above 20 points for the final 16 minutes of regulation.
The Chargers held the third-best scoring offense in the conference more than 22 points under its season average, while forcing the Cavaliers to shoot just 13% from three.
“I thought we were really connected on both ends of the floor, we were really playing together and they were out there for each other,” Head Coach John Tharp said. “I thought we came in and looked really sharp, we were hitting our shots, taking advantage of things inside, and working inside out. We made 10 threes in that game, from seven different guys, that’s really big for us on the offensive end.”
Yarian used his game-high nine rebounds to pass Tim Dezelski ‘14 for tenth in career rebounds in program history, now with 724. He also chipped in 16 points and three assists. Cartier scored a game-high 19 points while junior guards Jack Gohlke, Cole Nau, and Goessler rounded out a starting lineup that shot 25-of-40 from the field. They outscored the entire Walsh roster, 62-59.
Hillsdale’s final game of the week was played in Lake Erie against the Storm on Tuesday. The game had been postponed from early in the new year. The Chargers took home the win behind huge games from Yarian, Cartier, and freshman Joe Reuter.
Reuter came off the bench to drop 20 points, stuffing the stat sheet with two rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Yarian dropped a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double, and added six assists for good measure. Cartier finished with a game-high 24 points while going a perfect 9-of-9 from the field.
“I did miss a few free-throws, which is annoying,” Cartier said. “Joe has been really good off the bench, bringing some scoring and shooting for us. I’ve been really impressed with the poise he plays with, and how he’s playing as a freshman, I redshirted my first year so I don’t know if that’s something I would’ve been able to do.”
The Chargers have just one game this week, their final game at home against the Storm on Saturday at 3 p.m. It will mark the team’s Senior Night and, unless Hillsdale win’s the conference and hosts the G-MAC tournament, will be the seniors’ last game at home in their careers.
“I’m just trying to enjoy the last little bit of my season, because I’m never gonna be around these guys every day again,” Yarian said. “I’m just kind of soaking it all in and being appreciative of the guys that have come here before me and guys that’ll be here after me.”
