Schedule
Hillsdale (16-7, 10-5 G-MAC) at Tiffin (5-17, 3-11 G-MAC) | 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13 | Gillmor Center | Tiffin, OH
Northwood (7-16, 3-12 G-MAC) at Hillsdale (16-7, 10-5 G-MAC) | 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, MI
 
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Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Thomas More Roster | KWC Roster | Hillsdale Stats | Thomas More Stats | KWC Stats | G-MAC Standings | G-MAC Stats
 
Projected Starters
Hillsdale: #2 Ashton Janowski, Jr, G, Pewaukee, WI/Pewaukee (10.8 ppg, 2.4 apg); #4 Charles Woodhams, Sr., G, Otsego, MI/Otsego (13.6 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.4 apg); #30 Logan Beaston, rFr., G, Tiffin, OH/Columbian (7.2 ppg); #33 Joe Reuter, Sr., F, Chippewa Falls, WI/Chippewa Falls (12.1 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 3 apg, 1.6 spg); #35 Eric Radisevic, Sr., F, Brookfield, WI/Central (8.6 ppg, 2.5 rpg)
 
Tiffin: #0 Jonah Nesmith, Jr., F, Conway, SC/Carolina Forest (6.8 ppg, 2 rpg, 1 spg); #2 KJ Pruitt, Jr., G, Lewisville, TX/IUPUI (6.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 3 apg, 1.1 spg); #11 John Muhammad, Sr., G/F, Dallas, TX/Temple College/Cameron (4.5 ppg, 2.1 rpg); #15 Caleb Bates, Jr., F, Detroit, MI/Goldey-Beacom (6.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg); #24 Dekyre Fuller, Sr., F, Arlington, TX/Mississippi College (10.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.2 spg)
 
Northwood: #0 Elijah Watson, Sr., F, Chicago Heights, IL/Thornton Fractional South/Wayne St. (NE) (13.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.1 spg); #2 JT Morgan, Sr., F, Detroit, MI/U of D Jesuit/Maryville U. (9 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 2 apg); #3 Brayden Szamrej, Fr., G, Hudsonville, MI/Hudsonville (9.2 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 3.4 apg, 1 spg); #14 Jamison Eklund, So., F, Westphalia, MI/Pewamo-Westphalia/Lansing CC (10.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg); #24 Will Young II, Jr., G, Okemos, MI/Okemos (13.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg)

 
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 10.8 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 year so far for the new-look Dragons, but the eight seed in the G-MAC Tourney is still in play if Tiffin can win out and pull some big upsets down the stretch, starting with a rematch against Hillsdale on Thursday.
 
Northwood: After two seasons near the bottom of the G-MAC standings, Northwood has turned the program over to Tom Church, the former Tiffin coach who guided the Dragons to back-to-back G-MAC Tournaments. While it hasn't been a huge improvement in record so far, the Timberwolves have been more competitive, nearly upsetting league-leading Findlay last week.

Church has hit the transfer portal hard looking for a quick rebuild, landing impact players in forward Elijah Watson, who leads the T'Wolves in scoring after transferring in from Wayne State College in Nebraska, Jamison Eklund, a JuCo transfer who's averaging 10 points a game, and JT Morgan, Northwood's leading rebounder who hails from Maryville University in St. Louis.

Will Young, Noah Pruitt and De'Arrius Ware, all holdovers from the previous regime, also play important roles in the rotation, as does freshman Brayden Szamrej.

Northwood still has a chance to sneak into the final spot in the G-MAC Tournament, but will need to pull multiple upsets down the stretch to get in position to give themselves a chance. A victory over the Chargers on Saturday would be a big help in that quest.
 
Scouting the Chargers
Hillsdale is looking to pull itself together after a difficult road weekend. While the Chargers are unlikely to claim the G-MAC title after losing both this past weekend, many of its goals are still in play, and Hillsdale can set itself up well for the upcoming G-MAC Tournament with a strong finish, beginning with two winnable games this week.

Entering this winter, the Chargers went from returning only one starter last year to returning four of five starters this season, 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 Evan Morrissey as his assistant coach for a second year.
 
Matchup History

• Hillsdale has dominated a long series with Tiffin going back to the 1970s, with a 36-5 all-time record against the Dragons, and an 18-game winning streak, including taking both meetings last season, 56-51 and 73-35, and the first meeting this year on Jan. 9, 84-60. 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 have a long-running rivalry with in-state foe Northwood dating back to the 70s, and it's one Hillsdale leads 53-31. Hillsdale has won eight straight against Northwood since 2017 and nine of the last 10 meetings, including a 74-54 win on Dec. 16 in its first contest this season against the Timberwolves.

 
Other Notes

• This season marks the return of "The Jack", the traveling all-sports trophy between Hillsdale and Northwood. Inaugurated in 1996 to honor legendary ADs Jack Finn of Northwood and Jack McAvoy of Hillsdale, the trophy was awarded for 20 years before Hillsdale's departure from the GLIAC in 2017-18 left the two teams in different conferences. With both programs back in the G-MAC, the traveling trophy will return for the 2024-25 season, with results in head-to-head matches and conference finishes factoring into the point total for both teams and the program with the most points at the end of the year receiving the trophy and bragging rights until the subsequent season. Hillsdale has a 7-0 lead entering this weekend thanks to wins in football, men's basketball and women's basketball, a sweep in volleyball and superior finishes in the G-MAC Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships. If both the Charger men and women can complete a sweep of basketball season this weekend, it would put Hillsdale on the cusp of clinching the trophy with the spring results still to come.
• It's senior day on Saturday for the Hillsdale College men's basketball team, as the Chargers celebrate Eric Radisevic, Joe Reuter and Charles Woodhams as they play the final Saturday home contest of their careers. The trio have been an important part of Hillsdale basketball for five seasons, and have put up a 101-35 record. All three players also were a part of three NCAA DII Tournament appearances, and the 2022 Midwest Regional Championship and Elite Eight appearance.
• The seedings for the 2025 G-MAC Tournament will be determined by the Points Rating System. Currently Hillsdale is fourth in the PRS and would host Thomas More in the quarterfinal round if the season ended today.
• Senior forward Joe Reuter delivered one of the defining moments of an impressive four-year career at Hillsdale with seven points in overtime to lead the Chargers past Kentucky Wesleyan on Feb. 1. The 2021-22 G-MAC Freshman of the Year and a two-time All-G-MAC player, Reuter has been crucial for the Chargers this season, averaging 12.1 points per game while ranking sixth in the G-MAC in rebounds per game (7.1), eighth in assists per game (3), sixth in blocked shots per game (0.8), first in steals per game (1.8) and ninth in free throw percentage (.733). Reuter also is working his way up the all-time lists statistically at Hillsdale, as his 1,304 career points rank 23^rd all time, and he surpassed the 500-rebound milestone earlier this season.
• Sophomore Mikey McCollum has been a huge asset for the Chargers off the bench, keeping Hillsdale's second unit humming at a high level offensively even without the starters on the floor. McCollum is averaging 11.9 points per game, third most on the team, thanks to 44 made 3-pointers and a strong performance at the foul line.  Freshman Logan Beaston has been prolific from deep as well, with 44 made 3-pointers as well in his first collegiate campaign, and the team's leading scorer, senior Charles Woodhams, also has 39 made 3-pointers as outside shooting has been a big asset for Hillsdale on the season.
• The Chargers are playing at a high level so far at both ends of the floor, averaging 75.9 points per game offensively, and ranking third in the G-MAC and 27th in the nation in scoring defense at 66.9 points per game.
• 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 23 games, Hillsdale has continued to excel on that front, conceding just 31.6% from beyond the arc, which ranks first in the G-MAC.
• Another facet of Hillsdale's excellent defense is its ability to control the defensive glass. The Chargers concede just 30.7 rebounds per game to opponents, second fewest in the G-MAC and 11th fewest at the NCAA DII level. The Chargers are also among league leaders in blocked shots this year, averaging 3.09 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 1.56, the 12^th best mark nationally. That emphasis has helped the Chargers become one of the more efficient offensive teams in conference play, ranking fifth in the G-MAC in field goal percentage (47.4%), third in 3-point percentage (36.5%), and fourth in free throw percentage (73.7%).