The Hillsdale College Men’s basketball team is 2-1 on the season thanks to two consecutive wins last week, including one against GLIAC opponent Saginaw Valley State University.
On Nov. 26 Hillsdale won 67-58 against Saginaw at Jesse Philips Arena, putting the Chargers 1-0 in the GLIAC.
Head Coach Ed Douma was extremely happy with the Conference win and stressed the importance of the victory, referring to Saginaw as a “huge opponent” in the GLIAC.
He attributed the Charger’s success to “out-rebounding”, of which Hillsdale had 36 compared to Saginaw Valley’s 28. Douma also complimented the energy of the Charger team, an energy that propelled four players into double figures.
Senior guard John Hamood, who led the Chargers with a career high of 10 rebounds, agreed that the Chargers gave Saginaw a good challenge.
“We have definitely improved with each game, and last Saturday we put forth a good team effort,” he said. “We need to get that happening every game.”
Junior Drew Powell and senior Cory Coe led the Chargers with 14 points each, and junior John Farr and sophomore Tim Homan scored 10 each.
On Nov. 22 the Chargers played the 0-2 University of Indianapolis, winning 60-59.
Coach Douma called the Charger defense “solid,” as they were able to hold the Greyhounds to three points in the last seven minutes of play, allowing Hillsdale to come back from a five point deficit and clinch the win.
Homan turned up his offensive game, scoring six of the Charger’s last seven points, and ended the game with a season-high of 24.
Coe added 11 and Powell scored 10.
Powell attributed the Charger success to good team chemistry.
“We play our best when the team has great energy and hustle, allowing us to control the tempo and create opportunities for one another,” he said. “If we can continue to frustrate teams on defense along with executing well on offense, we will win a lot of games this year.”
The next Charger home games will be this Tuesday against University of Michigan-Dearborn, and Saturday, Dec. 10, against conference rival Wayne State.
Coach Douma encourages the student body to come out and support the team, and he said he believes that exhibiting school spirit is “a good way to spend a study break during finals.”
The Chargers make the trip to Erie Pa. this week to play GLIAC competitors Mercyhurst on Dec.1, and Gannon on Dec. 3.