The Hillsdale College men's basketball team took a painful road loss on Thursday night, falling behind early to host Thomas More and never quite pulling themselves back into the contest in a 73-63 loss.

Thomas More shot 65% from the field in the first half while the Chargers hit just 38% of the shots they attempted as Hillsdale came out sluggish at both ends and paid the price, falling behind 41-23 at the half.

Hillsdale was much better in the second half, outscoring the Saints 40-32 behind nine made 3-pointers after the break, but that early deficit proved to be too much for Hillsdale to overcome. The Chargers came within seven points of the lead after a 7-0 run in the middle of the half, capped by a Mikey McCollum 3-pointer, but Thomas More responded with a 3-point basket at the other end and Hillsdale trailed by double digits for most of the rest of the way.

The Chargers struggled to match Thomas More's interior game in the loss, as the Saints outrebounded the Chargers 39-24 and beat them 40-18 on paint points. Hillsdale was able to keep contact thanks to 12 made 3-pointers and 27 bench points, but it wasn't enough to make up the difference.

Charles Woodhams led Hillsdale with 19 points on 5 of 7 shooting from 3-point range and six rebounds, and Joe Reuter had a strong second half and finished with 13 points and six rebounds as well. Mikey McCollum led the bench charge with 16 points, including four made 3-pointers, and three assists, and Cole McWhinnie added five points and three assists as well. 

Hillsdale (16-6, 10-4 G-MAC) will look to regroup ahead of a massive game at Kentucky Wesleyan on Saturday, as the Chargers now trail Kentucky Wesleyan by a game in the standings, and are two games behind Findlay. A loss to the Panthers would all but eliminate Hillsdale from the G-MAC title race with five games to play, while a win keeps hope alive.