The Charger men’s basketball team fell to the Malone University Pioneers in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference semifinal game 58-55 on March 7 at home.

“I would say going into that game that our team was feeling really good about the opportunity ahead of us,” junior Ashton Janowski said.

Hillsdale held a small lead throughout most of the game, but fell behind in the final quarter.

“The team did a great job battling back from being down nine points with 10 minutes left and giving ourselves a chance to win down the stretch,” senior Joe Reuter said. “It shows the toughness that we have and it was great to see how we handled that adversity.”

Janowski, redshirt senior Charles Woodhams, and sophomore Mickey McCollum all scored 12 points for the Chargers. Woodhams and Reuter were awarded first-team All-G-MAC honors. Redshirt sophomore Jacob Meyer received the G-MAC’s Elite 26 award, his second consecutive year receiving the award, for having the highest GPA in the G-MAC basketball tournament. The Chargers did not receive a bid for the NCAA Division II Basketball Tournament, and are graduating three starters. 

“The game turned into a free throw battle and we just missed some shots that we usually make. They were shots that we all thought were going to go in but didn’t,” Janowski said. “All shots that we could and will make next year.”

Reuter and Janowski said that the Chargers knew what to expect coming into the game because it was their third time playing the Pioneers this season.

“They just had some of their guys that didn’t play well against us in the past step up and play really well,” Reuter said. “They made some plays that we didn’t, and we lost because of that.”

Sophomore Ané Dannhauser was in the stands for the game and said that, despite students leaving campus for spring break, it was well-attended. 

“In the last minute everyone was cheering and almost holding their breath because the difference was literally one or two baskets,” Dannhauser said. “It was heartbreaking because of the fact that it was so close, but it was a very fun game to watch nonetheless.”