Box Score

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan was not kind to the Hillsdale College men's basketball team.

A late comeback attempt by the Chargers fell short for the second time in two games in the U.P. Northern Michigan upended Hillsdale 70-64 Saturday afternoon in Marquette. The Chargers fall to 11-5 overall and 7-5 with the loss.

Northern Michigan was able to control the boards, to the tune of a 36-23 advantage in team rebounds, giving it the edge it needed in this game. That edge was pronounced on the offensive glass, when Hillsdale was only able to grab two offensive rebounds and produced just two second-chance points. NMU corralled 12 offensive boards in the game, helping it to take nine more shots from the floor than the Chargers.

The Wildcats led the game 59-49 with 5:31 left in the second half when Hillsdale mounted yet another comeback. Starting with a 3-pointer by sophomore Stedman Lowry, Hillsdale went on a 13-4 run that made it a one-point game, 63-62, with 1:40 to go. But the Wildcats stiffened up on defense down the stretch, never giving up the lead and forcing a pair of turnovers in the final 30 seconds to preserve the result.

This was the first game all season Hillsdale lost while shooting better than 50 percent from the field. NMU got its lead thanks to strong 3-point shooting early, holding an 18-3 scoring edge in that department in the first half. The Chargers shot 25-for-48 from the field (52.1 percent), but were undone by their disadvantage on the boards.

Senior forward Kyle Cooper led all scorers with 25 points, hitting 10-of-16 shots from the field, with a pair of 3-pointers to go along with 9 rebounds and 2 assists. Lowry had 15, while senior center Jason Pretzer scored 9 of his 11 in the first half.

UP NEXT: Hillsdale returns home to face Ferris State at 8 p.m. Thursday.

PHOTO CREDIT: Jim Drews