Dewcember 16, 2008 - Between Thursday and Saturday, the Hillsdale College men's and women's basketball teams will measure themselves against GLIAC teams that, along with the Chargers, are off to the best start in conference play.

Hillsdale will host arch-rival University of Findlay at Jesse Philips Arena Thursday night. The women's game tips off at 6 p.m., with the men's game to follow at 8:00.

The Chargers will then play a rare Saturday night doubleheader in Allendale, as Hillsdale hits the road to face off with Grand Valley State. Again, the women's game starts at 6 p.m. with the men starting at 8:00.

The four teams involved in Thursday's home games - Findlay's men and women and Hillsdale's men and women - have a combined record of 26-2. The competition gets no easier Saturday, as Grand Valley's men and women's teams have a combined record of 12-4 this season.

MEN'S PREVIEW
Findlay's men's basketball team is the cream of the crop in Division II, sporting a 7-0 record and a number one ranking in the latest Division II Top 25 poll. The Oilers have held a big advantage over the Chargers in recent years, winning 17 straight meetings dating back to the 1999-2000 season. Findlay is 35-5 all-time vs. Hillsdale, but the Chargers come into this meeting with a 5-1 record and a proven ability to win close games.

Three of Hillsdale's five wins have come by three points or less. Senior guard Keith MacKenzie made a layup with a half-second left to help Hillsdale win its last game, 79-77, at Ferris State. MacKenzie netted his first career GLIAC South Division Player of the Week award, thanks in part to his game-winning shot.

Under second-year head coach John Tharp, the Chargers have emerged as a mentally tough team that is balanced offensively. The team also gets contributions from players of all ages. MacKenzie and seniors Tony Gugino, Evan Steward and Travis Worst are all mainstays in the starting lineup. Freshmen Brad Guinane and Tyler Gerber have received starter-level minutes throughout the season and are maturing quickly. Sophomore guard Joe Caruso contributes 3-point shooting, ballhandling and toughness as a guard, while junior forward Luke Laser is getting more and more comfortable in Hillsdale's offense in his first season with the team.

Findlay is ranked first in the nation with good reason. The Oilers return most of their talent from last year, when they finished 28-5. Three of those losses came to Grand Valley State, but Findlay got a measure of revenge Saturday, pounding the Lakers 68-47 in Allendale. Playing road games on back-to-back days had no obvious ill effect on Findlay, as Sunday the Oilers traveled to Big Rapids and whipped Ferris State 83-60.

The Oilers have won their seven games by an average of 21.1 points per game, and in an exhibition game, lost to Division I top-10 team Xavier, 79-76. Forward Josh Bostic was pegged by some preseason publications as the Division II national preseason player of the year.

Grand Valley State's men's team lost just one game in 2007-08, winning the GLIAC and Great Lakes Regional championships. This season, the team is ranked 21st in the nation and features two transfer players from the University of Michigan, Jarret Smith and K'Len Morris.

The Lakers have lost two straight coming into Saturday's matchup with the Chargers, having been upset by Ashland, 68-67, on Dec. 6. GVSU is led by Pete Trammell, an athletic and dymanic wing player who is averaging 12.1 points per game.

WOMEN'S PREVIEW
Few teams in the nation are off to the kind of start the Charger women are on to open this 2008-09 season. Hillsdale is now ranked No. 6 in the nation in the latest Division II Top 25 poll, moving up one spot from last week. Number six is the highest ranking ever achieved in the history of Hillsdale College women's basketball, and the players and coaches on the team are performing at a level that's very deserving of its high ranking.

The Chargers are 8-0 on the season, having won all eight games by at least 10 points. Hillsdale is first in the GLIAC in scoring average and third in average points allowed. The team is talented and seasoned, with four starters returning from last year's team that participated in the NCAA Tournament.

One of those starters is coming off an extraordinary performance last Saturday. Senior forward Katie Cezat, who was a First-Team All-American last season, hasn't slowed down one bit, especially after her amazing game against Ferris State. Cezat had 36 points, 20 rebounds and a GLIAC-record 13 blocked shots to lead the Chargers to a 76-61 road win over the Bulldogs.

Cezat has been named the GLIAC South Division Player of the Week three times in five weeks this season, and leads the conference in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots, all by wide margins. She also scored her 1,000th career point Saturday. Incredibly, 880 of those points have been scored since the start of the 2007-08 season.

But Cezat is just one reason for Hillsdale's blazing-hot start. Junior point guard Brooke Knight is the GLIAC leader in assists per game, dioshing out 6.9 per contest. Knight is one of a deep group of guards who play with toughness, intelligence and great endurance that allow them to stay fresh late into the second halves of games.

Senior Claire Aubrey has improved her offensive game to complement her always-tough defense. Aubrey is averaging double figures in scoring for the first time in her career. Freshman Chelsea Harrison is fourth in the GLIAC in 3-point shooting percentage, and her aggressive play at both ends hardly speaks of someone with fewer than 10 college games under her belt.

Thursday night, Hillsdale faces the challenge of a Findlay team that can already make a case for the GLIAC's most improved team. The Oilers are 6-1 on the season and are right behind the Chargers in the South Division standings. Findlay boasts of impressive victories over Lake Superior State (60-57) and Ferris State (81-74) in recent outings.

The Oilers are a prolific 3-point shooting team, leading the GLIAC with 82 shots made from beyond the arc this season. But the team isn't just made up of a bunch of gunners with no conscience. Findlay is second in the GLIAC - behind Hillsdale - in 3-point shooting percentage, having made 44.8 percent of its 3-point field goals. On the season, Findlay has outscored its opposition 246-108 from 3-point territory. Hillsdale and Findlay also rank 1-2 in the conference in team assists per game. Hillsdale's perimeter defense is likely to be a key in this game.

Saturday night, the Chargers head to Grand Valley, where they will attempt to defeat the Lakers for the second consecutive time. Last year, Hillsdale cleared a major mental hurdle with its 77-65 home win over GVSU, the first win over the Lakers for the Chargers since 2002-03.

That was also the last time the Chargers won in Allendale, a 58-40 win on Jan. 4, 2003 in Claudette Charney's first season as Hillsdale's head coach.

Four players average nine or more points per game for the Lakers, led by Kim Wyngaard's 14 points per game. Grand Valley State has won three in a row, including an 85-74 home win over Findlay last Saturday.