The Hillsdale College men's basketball team led for much of Tuesday's contest at Quincy, and had a double-digit lead at halftime, but couldn't hold on late in a tough 63-61 loss to the Hawks.

The Chargers held the lead for the first 15 minutes of the second half and led by as many as 11 with 7:14 to play after a layup and two free throw by Connor Stonebraker, but the Hawks went on an 18-2 run over the next five minutes to take a five point edge with two minutes to play.

Stonebraker and Garrett Bolte scored on back-to-back possessions to cut Quincy's lead to 58-57 with 1:13 to play, and a steal by Braylon Morris got Hillsdale the ball with a chance to retake the lead. The Chargers couldn't capitalize at the other end though, and Quincy went 5 of 6 at the line down the stretch to hold on despite a late charge by Hillsdale to put the pressure on late.

The Chargers built an early lead in the contest thanks in part to Bolte, who scored five quick points with Hillsdale trailing 9-8. Hillsdale would hold the lead for the rest of the half, with back-to-back 3-pointers by Morris helping Hillsdale stretch the lead to double digits going into halftime.

The Chargers shared the ball well in the contest, with 13 assists, and held Quincy in check defensively, as the Hawks shot just 40% from the floor and 1 of 11 from 3-point range. But Hillsdale also struggled to score in live action, shooting 39% for the game and 4 of 22 from deep, and the Hawks were able to get to the foul line and convert, knocking down 22 of 30 free throws to give Quincy the edge it needed on the scoreboard.

Bolte finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and three assists to lead Hillsdale in scoring for the second straight game, and Caleb Glaser added 10 points off the bench for the Chargers. Morris and Stonebraker each added eight as well for Hillsdale, and Cole McWhinnie chipped in six points, four rebounds and four assists.

Hillsdale (3-6, 1-2 G-MAC) plays again tomorrow at noon eastern time in Quincy as the Chargers wrap up the Hansen-Spear Classic with a contest against Truman State.