The Hillsdale College men's basketball team executed down the stretch to take down a tough Cedarville squad, 84-71, for a big home conference win on Thursday night.

The Chargers never trailed after the 18:45 mark of the first half but, despite a 23-6 lead midway through the first period, found themselves tied at 64 with a determined Yellow Jackets squad with 6:24 to play. Hillsdale, however, proved they had plenty of grit of their own, and better shooting, in the final six minutes of the contest, outscoring Cedarville 20-7 from that point on. 

Freshmen Braylon Morris and Paxton Gierz each got into the lane and finished a pair of critical layups to get Hillsdale some separation from Cedarville, and Connor Stonebraker was 4 for 4 from the free throw line and hit an off-balance fadeaway jumper from 18 feet that proved to be a dagger, putting the Chargers up 81-71 with 1:56 to play.

Hillsdale was efficient offensively in its home gym, shooting an impressive 58.8% from the floor in the contest and a critical 63.6% on field goals in the second half, with the game in the balance. The Chargers also did a great job of getting to the free throw line and converting against an aggressive and physical Cedarville defense, going 20 of 28 on foul shots while the Yellow Jackets shot just 63.2% from the charity stripe. Those extra points made a difference as Hillsdale pulled away late.

Stonebraker was phenomenal in one of his best games in a Charger uniform, shooting 7 of 12 from the floor and a perfect 8 for 8 from the line to finish with a career-high 23 points and seven rebounds. Caleb Glaser added 17 points and five rebounds as Hillsdale fought a Cedarville team with strong post players to a standstill on points in the paint and won the rebounding battle, 34-26. 

Morris added 15 points and four rebounds off the bench for the Chargers, Tommy Morgan chipped in seven points, and CJ Yarian added five points, six rebounds, five assists and two blocks.

Hillsdale improves to 7-9 overall, 4-4 in the G-MAC with the victory, and will look to win three straight games for the first time in the 2025-26 season with a road trip to Tiffin on Saturday. The Chargers will top off against the Dragons at 1 p.m.