Box Score

February 29, 2012 - The Hillsdale College men's basketball team is officially in uncharted territory, and the players and coaches of the team couldn't be happier to be there.

Hillsdale defeated Ashland University 74-71 in a thrilling overtime game Wednesday night at Jesse Philips Arena in the first round of the 2012 GLIAC Men's Basketball Tournament. The Chargers (23-4) will now host the tournament semifinals and finals for the first time in school history this weekend.

Hillsdale will play Michigan Tech in the 1:00 game Saturday. Findlay will battle Wayne State in the other semifinal, scheduled for a 3:00 tipoff. The championship game will be played at 2:00 Sunday afternoon.

The Chargers, the number-one seed in the tournament, fought off a hot-shooting and determined Ashland team that played extremely hard throughout the game. Neither team had a lead bigger than eight in the game, and the lead never grew past four for either team in the second half.

The game featured 11 ties and 23 lead changes, indicating how closely this game was contested.

Ashland's talented big man Evan Yates comverted a three-point play on Ashland's first possession of overtime to put the Eagles ahead 71-68. But Hillsdale shut Ashland out over the game's final 4:42, as it scored just enough points (six) to pull away for the win.

A layup by senior Brad Guinane cut the lead to one, and sophomore center Tim Dezelski cut to the basket for a beautifully set up layup by Tyler Gerber to put Hillsdale in front, 72-71, with 2:15 to play in overtime.

Dezelski then stepped up on the defensive end to help clinch the game. Ashland's Ronnie Steward had the ball well beyond the 3-point stripe on the left side wing when he sent up his 3-point shot attempt with one second to play. Dezelski did a great job of defending the smaller, quicker guard, then blocked the shot to help seal this historic win by the Chargers.

The Chargers held the Eagles to 0-for-5 shooting in the last 4:42 of overtime. The final points of the game came off a power jump shot by juniro center Nick Washburn, which gave Hillsdale the crucial three-point lead, with 1:23 to play.

Washburn stepped up and played big throughout this contest. He finished the game with 15 points, eight rebounds and a career-high five blocked shots. He was tasked with guarding Yates, the GLIAC's scoring and rebounding champ of the regular season, and Washburn used his height advantage effectively. 

Dezelski was a steady, powerful force in the game, and had 12 points, four rebounds and three assists. Guinane led the Chargers with 16 points, and heated up in the secnd half, making five of his last six shots from the floor. 

Gerber played a superb game at the point, with 12 points, six rebounds, seven assists and no turnovers in 39 minutes on the floor. As a team, Hillsdale turned the ball over just five times in this intense overtime contest, a testament to the team's cool under pressure and experience in tight contests.

All five Ashland starters scored in double figures, led by 23 points and 11 rebounds from Yates. As a team, Ashland shot a red-hot 10-for-18 from the 3-point line, and 55 percent for the game overall.

This was the second time this season Hillsdale and Ashland have gone into overtime. It was also the second game in a row the Chargers have needed five extra minutes to decide things. The Chargers concluded the regular season with an 84-83 road win over Ferris State on Feb. 22.

Earlier Wednesday, the NCAA Midwest Regional rankings were released, and Hillsdale rose up to No. 2 in the poll, behind nationally top-ranked Bellarmine.