Single elimination basketball started a game early for the Hillsdale College men's basketball team, as the Chargers entered Saturday needing a win over visiting Northwood to have any chance of making the G-MAC Tournament next week.

Hillsdale looked like a team motivated to keep going, as the Chargers took full advantage of their last chance with a dominant 83-66 victory over the Timberwolves that secured Hillsdale the eighth and final berth in the G-MAC Tourney, and postseason basketball at Hillsdale for the 11th straight season.

The Chargers had a great offensive effort from start to finish, shooting 56.5% from the floor and 10 of 22 from 3-point range to slice apart the Northwood defense. Ball movement played a major role for Hillsdale in the victory, as the Chargers put up 20 assists, one of their best totals of the season, on 35 made baskets and also finished with just eight turnovers against Northwood's half-court pressure defense.

But while the offense came through for Hillsdale on the night, it was turning up the defense that helped the Chargers pull away and secure the win in the second half. After allowing the Timberwolves to shoot 44.4% from 3-point range in the opening period, Hillsdale held Northwood to just 30% from beyond the arc in the second half, allowing the Chargers to turn a seven point halftime lead into a comfortable 17-point victory. Hillsdale also turned defense into offense, scoring 16 points off 14 Northwood turnovers.

The Chargers had great offensive depth in the victory, with four players scoring in double figures. Senior Ashton Janowski put up a vintage performance in his final home game as a Charger, torturing the Timberwolves with precision midrange jumpers on the way to a team-leading 16 points. Fellow senior Cole McWhinnie was 4 for 8 from beyond the arc and also was the driver of the offense for the Chargers, finishing with 12 points and seven assists, while freshman Braylon Morris was 4 for 4 from 3-point range with 12 points as well.

Garrett Bolte chipped in 12 points and four rebounds for Hillsdale, while Connor Stonebraker added eight points off the bench and CJ Yarian filled up the stat sheet, with four points, nine rebounds and five assists as well.

Senior Jacob Meyer got in the game late and drew the biggest cheers from the home crowd, finishing a driving layup at the rim and adding another bucket in transition to seal the victory for the Chargers.

While Janowski, McWhinnie and Meyer have played their last home game at Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena, their careers continue into next week as Hillsdale's victory over Northwood gave them the final spot in the G-MAC Tourney at 11-17 overall, 8-12 in G-MAC play. The Chargers will look to play David to top-seeded Walsh's Goliath in the quarterfinal round on Tuesday, as the G-MAC regular season champion Cavaliers host Hillsdale in North Canton for a 7:30 p.m. tip. Hillsdale lost both meetings with Walsh this season, 76-64 at home on Jan. 5 and 71-51 on the road on Jan. 31, but will hope the third time is the charm.