Trailing by one with under five seconds to play, the #12/24 Hillsdale College men's basketball team executed when it counted to pull out a 75-72 victory over Lake Erie at home on Saturday.

Inbounding from the far sideline down 72-71, Hillsdale put the ball in the hands of senior Joe Reuter, who beat his man off the dribble and got to the rim as the clock ran down. Lake Erie blocked Reuter's layup attempt, but had to illegally trap the ball against the backboard as it was on its way down to do so, triggering a goaltending call. The result -- a made basket for Reuter and Hillsdale, and a 73-72 lead with 1.3 seconds to play. After a technical against the Lake Erie coach, Reuter added two more points at the free throw line, and the Storm turned it over on the inbounds to seal a dramatic victory for the Chargers.

The last-second call helped Hillsdale finish off a victory that nearly slipped from their grasp. The Chargers were in control for most of the second half, leading the Storm by as many as 14 points and holding a 12-point edge with 4:53 to play after a transition dunk by CJ Yarian.

Down to their last chance, the Storm mounted a furious comeback, scoring seven points in the final minute to overturn a double-digit deficit and taking the lead with 4.5 seconds to play for the first time since midway through the first half. Hillsdale, however, was unfazed by the turn-around, quickly getting the ball to half-court and setting up the game-winning play for Reuter off the inbounds after a timeout.

It was a hard-fought, physical game from the start. The Chargers struggled at times with Lake Erie's aggressive full-court pressure, committing 21 turnovers, the most by a Hillsdale men's basketball team since January 2018, but countered with an excellent defensive effort. The Chargers held a Lake Erie team who entered the day averaging 95.6 points per game more than 20 points below their season average, giving up just five fast-break points in the process. The Storm shot just 17.6% from 3-point range, and shutting Lake Erie down from deep was a major factor in Hillsdale's ability to pull ahead in the first half and ultimately take the victory.

Hillsdale dominated the final five minutes of the first half, blowing open a back-and-forth contest to take a 38-32 lead into the break. The Chargers continued to build in the second half, never leading by less than seven points in the first 18 minutes of the final period.

The Chargers got a balanced effort offensively, with Reuter leading the way with 14 points, nine rebounds and four steals. Center Eric Radisevic had a strong contest as well, punishing an undersized Lake Erie front line with 13 points and three steals in 13 minutes of action, and Charles Woodhams added 10 points and three assists as well. Mikey McCollum chipped in nine points off the bench for the Chargers, Ashton Janowski and Logan Beaston each added eight, and Garrett Bolte finished with seven.

The victory is an important one for Hillsdale, which improves to 12-2 overall and remains one of three unbeaten teams atop the G-MAC at 6-0, along with Findlay and Kentucky Wesleyan. The Chargers will look to stay in pole position with two more home games next week, starting with a 7:30 p.m. contest against Tiffin on Thursday, Jan. 9.