The Hillsdale College men's basketball team got an excellent opportunity to measure where they stand on Sunday afternoon against a solid NCAA Division I Mid-Major program.

The Chargers couldn't knock off host Central Michigan in a 90-63 defeat in an exhibition contest, but Hillsdale got valuable experience against an athletic and skilled opponent less than two weeks away from the official start of their season.

Hillsdale hung tough with the Chippewas early, trailing just 13-10 six minutes in, and played well in the second half, winning the first nine and a half minutes and losing just 41-37 to CMU after halftime. But the Chargers couldn't overcome the size, strength and shot-making ability of CMU over the whole 40 minutes of the contest.

With a sizeable lineup, CMU outrebounded the Chargers 39-30 and won the battle of points in the paint and second-chance points decisively. The length and speed of the Chippewas also caused problems for Hillsdale offensively, as Hillsdale shot just 43.4 for the contest and 32.1 from the floor in the first half while committing 16 turnovers.

Despite those struggles, there were real positives to take away for the Chargers, who stepped up their game in the second half and got a balanced offensive performance with contributions from up and down the lineup. Returning All-G-MAC honoree Joe Reuter led Hillsdale with 12 points, three rebounds and three assists, but he was well-supported, with five more Chargers contributing seven or more points in the contest.

Junior Ashton Janowski chipped in 12 points as well for the Chargers, sophomore CJ Yarian added nine points, four rebounds and three assists off the bench, and senior Charles Woodhams just missed a double-double with eight points and a team-high 10 rebounds.

Redshirt freshman Logan Beaston added eight points as well in his first start as a Charger, and senior Eric Radisevic chipped in seven points and four rebounds as well.  

Hillsdale will look to build off this showing with the regular season just 12 days away. The Chargers officially kick off the 2024-25 campaign at 3 p.m. on Friday, November 8 at home against Saginaw Valley State, one of two games against the Cardinals that weekend as Hillsdale makes the return trip to SVSU the following Sunday, Nov. 10 as well.

Photo by Jack Reeber