For 34 minutes on Thursday night, the Hillsdale College men's basketball team put itself in position to pull a season-defining upset.

The Chargers had match #8/12 Findlay blow for blow on their home court, reeling the Oilers back in every time Findlay threatened to pull away, and trailed just 53-50 with 6:19 to play.

When the Oilers exploded on yet another run, however, this time Hillsdale didn't have enough time left to answer, as Findlay pulled away with strong 3-point shooting to down the Chargers 73-60.

After Ashton Janowski made two free throws to cut the deficit to 53-50, Findlay uncorked a 14-2 run over the next three minutes that included 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions and gave the Oilers a 67-52 lead with just 3:10 to go. Hillsdale made one final push late, but the damage was done as there was just not enough seconds on the clock to reel Findlay back in.

Hot 3-point shooting by the Oilers was a problem for the Chargers all night, as Findlay was 13 for 27 from beyond the arc, 48.1 percent, and those makes were more than enough to make up for a pedestrian night from the floor overall for the nationally ranked Oilers.

Hillsdale countered with 32 points in the paint and a decent shooting performance from the floor, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Oilers offensively, especially when Findlay again found its rhythm from deep late.

Ashton Janowski had an excellent individual game for the Chargers to help keep Hillsdale close for most of regulation, finishing with 17 points on 8 of 16 shooting and four assists. Charles Woodhams added 12 points and eight rebounds for the Chargers, Mikey McCollum added 11 points off the bench and CJ Yarian chipped in five points and seven rebounds.

The loss drops Hillsdale to 17-9 overall, 11-7 in league play, and puts pressure on the Chargers entering the final week of the season. Hillsdale likely needs wins in both of its final two games, starting with a home contest against Thomas More on Thursday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m., to have any chance of hosting a home game in the G-MAC Tournament. The Chargers will have a full week to prepare for the Saints, with a contest at Malone to follow on Saturday in the regular season finale.

Photo by Reva Ludwig