The Hillsdale College men's basketball team couldn't overcome a slow start at Ohio Dominican on Saturday, falling 91-76 to the Panthers to set up a season-defining final week at home.
ODU jumped on Hillsdale right out the gate, outscoring the Chargers 20-3 in the first seven minutes. Hillsdale responded with an 11-1 run to cut the lead to seven at the 8:49 mark in the first half, but that was as close as the Chargers would get as ODU closed the half with a flourish to take a 43-28 lead into the break.
A strong start to the second half by the Panthers saw ODU push the lead to 19, and from there Hillsdale was unable to get the lead back to single digits.
The Chargers shot the ball decently, finishing 52% from the floor, but couldn't keep pace with a red-hot shooting night from the 3-point range by the Panthers, who had 11 makes on 57.9% shooting from beyond the arc. ODU also got to the line consistently and converted at a high rate, going 20-25 on free throws as well.
Connor Stonebraker led Hillsdale with 15 points off the bench, while
Cole McWhinnie added 14 points and five assists as well.
Tommy Morgan chipped in 13 points and a team-high six rebounds,
Caleb Glaser added 10 points and five rebounds, and
Braylon Morris and
Garrett Bolte each finished with eight points as well.
CJ Yarian also contributed six rebounds and five assists for Hillsdale in the loss.
The defeat at ODU drops Hillsdale to 10-16 on the season, 7-11 in G-MAC play, and the Chargers remain outside the G-MAC Tournament picture in ninth place in the Points Rating System, with the top eight teams making the field for the March tourney. Hillsdale, however, is still close enough to leap into the field with victories at home next week to close out the regular season. First up is a must-win clash for the Chargers against rival Findlay on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena. A victory over the Oilers would not only lift up the Chargers but also cause Findlay, one of the teams Hillsdale is in position to overtake, to drop as well.
