Schedule
Tiffin (2-10, 0-4 G-MAC) at #20 Hillsdale (12-2, 6-0 G-MAC) | 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 9 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, MI
Cedarville (7-5, 2-3 G-MAC) at #20 Hillsdale (12-2, 6-0 G-MAC) | 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 11 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, MI
 
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Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Tiffin Roster | Cedarville Roster | Hillsdale Stats | Tiffin Stats | Cedarville Stats | G-MAC Standings | G-MAC Stats
 
Projected Starters
Hillsdale: #2 Ashton Janowski, Jr, G, Pewaukee, WI/Pewaukee (11.3 ppg, 2.7 apg); #4 Charles Woodhams, Sr., G, Otsego, MI/Otsego (13.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 2.4 apg); #30 Logan Beaston, rFr., G, Tiffin, OH/Columbian (8.1 ppg, 2 rpg); #33 Joe Reuter, Sr., F, Chippewa Falls, WI/Chippewa Falls (12.9 ppg, 7 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.3 spg, 1 bpg); #35 Eric Radisevic, Sr., F, Brookfield, WI/Central (7.5 ppg)
 
Tiffin: #1 D'monyae Davis, Jr., F, Fort Worth, TX/Texas A&M Int'l (4.4 ppg, 2.5 rpg); #2 KJ Pruitt, Jr., G, Lewisville, TX/IUPUI (7.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.1 spg); #15 Caleb Bates, Jr., F, Detroit, MI/Goldey-Beacom (5.2 ppg, 2.9 rpg); #22 Michael Lucarotti, So., G, Erie, PA/Gannon (7.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg); #24 Dekyre Fuller, Sr., F, Arlington, TX/Mississippi College (13 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.7 spg)
 
Cedarville: #0 Jaylen Davis, Fr., G, Richmond, KY/Madison Central (18.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.1 spg); #1 Sam Johnson, Fr., F, Worthington, OH/Worthington Christian (14.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg); #3 Kyle Thomas, Jr., G, Cloverdale, IN/Cloverdale (9.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.8 apg); #10 David Okpara, Jr., C, Ooltewah, TN/Hamilton Heights Christian (5.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg); #12 Ethan Sellars, Jr., G, Ashland, KY/Paul G. Blazer (9.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.3 spg)
 
 
Scouting the Opposition

Tiffin: It's a fresh start for the Tiffin program under new leadership, as Des Balentine takes the reins of a team that looks very different from the Dragons squad of 2023-24.

Six of the team's top seven minutes-getters from last year's veteran squad have departed, necessitating a rebuild for Tiffin.

The lone holdovers playing a big role in the lineup are guard KJ Pruitt, who started 16 games last season and has stepped in as the team's point guard, and forward Jacob Pleiman, who's taken on a sixth-man role in the front court.

With so many holes to fill, Balentine hit the portal hard in the offseason. The team's top three leading scorers are all transfers, led by Dekyre Fuller of Mississippi College, who's averaging 13 points per game. Western New Mexico transfer Allen Fordham also is a double digit scorer, and Gannon transfer Michael Lucarotti, JuCo transfer Jonah Nesmith, Goldey-Beacom transfer Caleb Bates and Texas A&M International transfer D'Monyae Davis all play important roles.

It's been a tough start for the new-look Dragons, who have yet to gel on both ends of the floor, but Tiffin will hope to turn the corner in 2025.
 
Cedarville: In his first season as head coach of the Yellow Jackets, and with a young roster, Rob Jones appears to have successfully restocked Cedarville as his team is in the thick of the G-MAC title race early on.

With several holes to fill after graduation hit Cedarville hard this offseason, the Yellow Jackets have found two impact freshmen in guards Jaylen Davis and Sam Johnson. The pair are averaging a combined 32.4 points per game and have been tough to contain so far.

Cedarville is surrounding that duo with a veteran supporting cast, including sharpshooting guards Kyle Thomas and Ethan Sellars, and solid big men Tymoteusz Pszczola and David Okpara, all multi-year players for the Yellow Jackets.

The return of Anthony Ruffolo, who missed Cedarville's first nine games with an injury, has added even more scoring punch to an already potent lineup.

Jones comes to Cedarville with Division I experience as an associate head coach with both Liberty and Richmond, helping guide both programs to NCAA Tournament berths. An alumnus of Toccoa Falls College, Jones also spent time at Alabama-Huntsville as an assistant coach.

 
Scouting the Chargers

Two big wins to start 2025 have Hillsdale keeping pace in the G-MAC title race, as the Chargers are undefeated in G-MAC play and in a three way tie atop the league standings entering a weekend homestand.

Despite a young squad with only one returning starter in 2023-24, the Hillsdale College men's basketball team put together a solid campaign, winning 18 games and keeping a streak of seven straight top four G-MAC finishes intact.

Now, as the calendar turns from the 2024-25 season, last year's young squad at Hillsdale becomes one of the most veteran teams in the G-MAC, and a serious contender for the G-MAC crown and a potential return trip to the NCAA Tournament after a year's absence.

Entering this winter, the Chargers go from returning only one starter to returning four of five starters, and 11 of 13 players that appeared in at least one game in the 2023-24 season. Leading the way is senior forward Joe Reuter, a two-time All-G-MAC selection who's entering his third year as a starter and one of just three first-team All-G-MAC players from a year ago who are back for the 2024-25 season.

Reuter led Hillsdale in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and blocks last season and should be one of the top players in the conference. He'll be flanked by two more returning double-digit scorers in guards Charles Woodhams, a fifth-year senior, and Ashton Janowski, a junior. Both players came into their own last season as starters and scoring threats and give Hillsdale great toughness and continuity up front.

An area where the Chargers are hoping for major improvement is in the paint. Starting center CJ Yarian returns after a solid first season on the court for Hillsdale, while fellow sophomores Caleb Glaser and Garrett Bolte gained great experience off the bench and will look to continue growing as sophomores. The unit will get a big boost from a healthy Eric Radisevic, who contributed last year but was limited for much of the season by injuries. Now entering 2024-25 fully recovered, Radisevic could make a big impact for the Chargers, who lacked offensive punch from the center position at points in 2023-24 and could jump to another level as a team with better production down low.

Two players who could see their role grow as Hillsdale looks to replace the graduated Samuel Vasiu are sharpshooting sophomore Mikey McCollum and junior point guard Cole McWhinnie, both of whom excelled in substitute roles in 2023-24 and who will compete for more minutes this season.

Additionally, don't count out two players coming off their redshirt years this season. Guard Logan Beaston and post Connor Stonebraker are both skilled offensive players and have the talent to carve out roles of their own on an experienced squad, while further bolstering the Chargers' depth.

Head coach Keven Bradley returns for his second season at the helm after a solid first season, and brings back assistant Evan Morrissey for a second year, while adding Michigan native Travis Schuba to the coaching staff for this campaign as well.
 
Matchup History

• Hillsdale has dominated a long series with Tiffin going back to the 1970s, with a 35-5 all-time record against the Dragons, and a 17-game winning streak, including taking both meetings last season 56-51 and 73-35. Tiffin's last win over Hillsdale came on Dec. 21, 2014, a 73-69 neutral site win in a Holiday tournament in Quincy, Illinois.
• The Chargers are 16-2 all-time against Cedarville, but the record doesn't do justice to what has generally been a competitive series filled with close games, including multiple overtime contests in recent years. The two teams split a pair of meetings in 2024, with Cedarville winning at home 68-56 on Jan. 27, and the Chargers taking the rematch 76-68 on their home floor on Feb. 15.

 
Other Notes

• The Chargers were picked to finish second in the G-MAC Preseason Poll released in late October, with four first place votes. Defending champion Kentucky Wesleyan was picked to repeat, while defending G-MAC Tournament champion Walsh was picked to finish third. Since joining the league in 2017-18, Hillsdale has never finished lower than third in the final standings. Currently, the Chargers are tied with Kentucky Wesleyan and Findlay atop the G-MAC standings.
• Hillsdale remains in the national rankings in both the coaches and media polls this week, sitting at 20^th in the nation in the coaches poll and receiving votes in the nation in the media poll after a 12-2 start. This is the seventh-straight week the Chargers have been nationally ranked. Hillsdale is one of seven teams in the Midwest Region ranked or receiving in the NABC Coaches Poll, including Ferris St. (5^th), Lake Superior St. (10^th), G-MAC foe Findlay (13^th), Missouri S&T (17th), Northern Michigan (RV) and Kentucky Wesleyan (RV).
• Hillsdale returns four starters from last year's squad, headlined by returning All-G-MAC honoree Joe Reuter. The senior forward is a third-year starter and a two-time All-Conference player who also was named G-MAC Freshman of the Year for the 2021-22 season. Along with high scoring guards Ashton Janowski and Charles Woodhams, Reuter has been a key piece for Hillsdale so far, averaging 12.9 points per game while ranking fifth in the G-MAC in rebounds per game (7), fourth in blocked shots per game (1.0) and 15^th in steals per game (1.3). Reuter also is working his way up the all-time lists statistically at Hillsdale, as his 1,206 career points now rank 25^th all time, and he surpassed the 500-rebound milestone earlier this season.
• The Chargers are playing at a high level so far at both ends of the floor, averaging 78.1 points per game offensively, and ranking second in the G-MAC and 12^th in the nation in scoring defense at 64.2 points per game. Hillsdale's 13-points-per-game scoring margin on opponents currently ranks 15th in NCAA DII.
• Hillsdale is known for its excellent 3-point defense, and last year's team was the best the Chargers have had at it since the 3-point line was introduced. Teams shot just 29.3% from deep on Hillsdale last season, the lowest among G-MAC squads and in the top 10 nationally. So far, through seven games, Hillsdale is conceding just 29.2% from beyond the arc, which ranks second in the G-MAC and ranks 16^th in NCAA DII so far.
• Another facet of Hillsdale's excellent defense is its ability to control the defensive glass. The Chargers concede a G-MAC best 29.5 rebounds per game to opponents, seventh fewest at the NCAA DII level, and are fifth in the G-MAC in defensive rebounds per game with 25.9. The Chargers are also among league leaders in blocked shots this year, averaging 3.29 per game with 11 of 13 players who've seen the court recording at least one block for the Chargers.
• Hillsdale prioritizes taking care of the basketball and passing to set up quality shots, and that's reflected in the team's strong assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.50, the 19^th best mark nationally. That emphasis has helped the Chargers become one of the more efficient offensive teams in conference play, ranking third in the G-MAC in field goal percentage (48.7%), third in 3-point percentage (37.2%), and tops in free throw percentage (76.9%).