Saturday's home contest against Kentucky Wesleyan was a game the Hillsdale College men's basketball team had to have, and, for much of the afternoon, it seemed like a game that was beyond the Chargers' reach.

But the Chargers refused to yield, despite the odds, and found a way to get the job done down the stretch in a stirring 93-89 victory that snaps a three-game Hillsdale losing streak. Hillsdale trailed by as many as nine points in the second half, by 80-75 with 42 seconds to go in regulation, and 86-80 a minute and a half into overtime, but fought back from all those deficits to down the Panthers in the end.

It looked like the game was lost when Kentucky Wesleyan hit a potential dagger 3-pointer with 42 seconds to play to stretch the lead to five. Hillsdale, however, wasn't discouraged, answering at the other end in under 15 seconds with an and-one by center Eric Radisevic, who convered the bonus free throw to cut Kentucky Wesleyan's lead back to 80-78 with 31 seconds to play. After the Panthers missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw attempt, Hillsdale secured a rebound and called timeout to draw up a play with 15 seconds to go.

The Chargers got the ball to Radisevic in the corner, who drove to the rim, sucking in a help defender and opening the lane for a cutting Joe Reuter. Radisevic dumped the ball to Reuter in stride, who laid in a tying basket with 2.4 seconds to play to force overtime.

In overtime, Kentucky Wesleyan once again put Hillsdale's backs to the wall, with back-to-back 3-pointers on the first two possessions to take a six point lead. The Chargers were once again undaunted, as Charles Woodhams knocked down a jumper to stop the bleeding, and then Reuter took over. The senior forward scored seven of his 18 points in overtime, knocking down back-to-back 3-pointers to turn an 87-82 deficit into a 88-87 Hillsdale lead, then retied the game with a free throw with 1:21 to play after Kentucky Wesleyan pulled ahead on a basket at the other end.

With the game tied and a minute left, Hillsdale got a much-needed stop, and Woodhams went one of two at the line to pull the Chargers back in front, 90-89. Clinging to a one point lead, Reuter came up huge again, blocking a potential tying layup attempt by KWC with 41 seconds to play and giving Hillsdale a chance to put the game away.

Junior Cole McWhinnie, who came off the bench to play critical minutes in the second half and overtime for the Chargers, did just that, knocking down a deep 3-pointer with just two seconds left on the shot clock to slip a dagger into the Panthers and finish off a hard-fought victory.

Five players scored in double figures for the Chargers in a wild contest, led by Reuter, who would not be denied in overtime and finished with 18 points, nine rebounds, five assists, two blocks and three steals. Woodhams chipped in a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double with four assists, freshman Logan Beaston hit four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points, McWhinnie added 13 points and CJ Yarian was 3 for 3 from beyond the arc to finish with 10 points as well.

Excellent 3-point shooting by the Chargers, who knocked down 16 treys at a 45.7% clip, allowed Hillsdale to overcome some ridiculous shot-making by the Panthers as well in a high-level offensive game. Hillsdale's depth also shone through in the win with 38 bench points in the contest. 

The victory is a huge one for Hillsdale which improves to 16-5 overall and 10-3 in the G-MAC. Today's win means the Chargers have a half-game lead on Kentucky Wesleyan for second place, and, coupled with a 77-70 loss by Findlay at Cedarville today, means Hillsdale sits just a game back from the G-MAC leading Oilers with seven league contests to play. The Chargers will get another shot at Findlay on Feb. 20, but first must get through a tough road trip coming up, starting with a trip to Kentucky to play a red-hot Thomas More team on Thursday, before a rematch with the Panthers on their home court on Saturday.

Photo by Kenneth Gaudet