Tyler Horning/Collegian
Sophomore guard Drew Powell lays the ball up against Ashland last week during the Charger’s five-game winning streak. No. 3 ranked Findlay brought the streak to a close, winning 82-73 Saturday.
Riding a five-game winning streak, the men's basketball team traveled to the University of Findlay last Saturday but fell short to the number three team in the nation 82-73. The loss drops the Chargers to a 13-9 record overall and 8-4 GLIAC.
“We really did not play our best,” head coach Ed Douma said. “We dug ourselves into a hole early, and when you play a really good team like that, it is tough to recover. We were able to get ourselves back into the game, but we never really threatened, and they made some timely shots to stop our momentum.”
At halftime, Hillsdale trailed 38-29, but Findlay came out firing on all cylinders in the second half, going on a 13-3 run and increasing their lead to 19. The Chargers made a valiant comeback and were able to cut the Oilers' lead to five with two minutes left before Findlay guard Tyson McGlaughlin buried a three-pointer to end Hillsdale's run.
“I think we gave a great effort on Saturday,” junior John Hamood said. “But at the same time, we believe that it was a game we should have won, and although we played hard, we had a lapse in the early second half that really hurt.”
“We felt like we gave it all we had, especially when facing a 19 point deficit in the second half,” sophomore Drew Powell said. “That would really demoralize many teams but we fought through it and made it a game again, which was an excellent display of this team's character.”
Powell led the Chargers in scoring with 17 points, but he was not alone, as Hillsdale had five players in double figures, including senior Ben Bixenmann, who chipped in for 14 off the bench.
“We have four people averaging in double figures and a few more not far behind,” Powell said. “On any given night, anybody on the team has the potential of leading us in scoring.”
The team will get another shot at Findlay in two weeks at home, but for now the team has to concentrate on its next three games, all of which are away, in order to stay in contention for the conference tournament in March. Hillsdale is currently third in the GLIAC South behind Findlay and Gannon. The top four teams make the tournament.
“It is a very tough schedule for us,” Douma said. “We're going to have to win some big games on the road and one...at home.”
“Every good team has to be able to win on the road, and we haven't consistently done that yet,” Powell said. “We know that it's going to take a great effort to win on the road in order to ultimately get where we want to be.”
Hillsdale will continue its four-game road trip this Saturday against Wayne State, who is currently one win behind Hillsdale in the GLIAC South Division.