January 22, 2009 – If it seems like every Hillsdale College men’s basketball game has come down to the wire lately, that’s because they have.

And for the second game in a row, the Chargers made the plays down the stretch that led to a win.

Clutch free throw shooting by senior Tony Gugino and freshman Tyler Gerber (pictured) helped pave the way for a 66-62 Hillsdale win on the road Thursday night over Ashland University. The Chargers are now 7-8 overall and 5-6 in the GLIAC after the win. Hillsdale next plays on the road Saturday against Tiffin University starting at 4 p.m.

This is the fifth game in a row decided by less than 10 points that the Chargers have played in. None of those games had an established winner before the final 30 seconds of each game, and Thursday night, playing in a tough venue at Ashland, Hillsdale came up strong at both ends of the court.

Hillsdale was able to hold on to the lead through much of the second half, and answered every big Ashland shot with one if its own. The Chargers made three 3-point field goals on three straight possessions inside the final three minutes of the second half to keep the Eagles at bay.

The first of those threes was made by Gerber, who is becoming a better and better second-half player for the Chargers in his rookie season. He had 12 points in the game, nine of them coming from beyond the arc in the second half. He also sank two free throws in a one-and-one situation with 27.4 seconds left to keep Hillsdale ahead, 65-60. His shots kept it a two-possession game, which is an ideal place to be with the lead in the final 30 seconds of a game.

Also connecting on big shots in the second half was junior Luke Laser. He also drained three 3-pointers in the second half, including two on back-to-back possessions to counter 3-point field goal makes by Ashland. Most of Laser’s 11 points came in the second half.

Ashland came into the game with one of the GLIAC’s most explosive offenses. But Hillsdale used a terrific team defensive effort to keep the Eagles well below their team scoring average. In addition, Ashland guard Bret Wackerly was held to 12 points below his scoring average of 16. The Charger guards contained Wackerly to the tune of four points for the entire game.

Hillsdale held Ashland to 37 percent field goal shooting for the game. The Charger bench players – led by Gerber – outscored Ashland’s bench contingent 22-7 in the contest.

Gugino scored six points in the first four minutes of the second half for Hillsdale, and finished the game with 15 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots. Senior guard Keith MacKenzie added 12 points, four rebounds and three assists. MacKenzie’s 3-point shot gave Hillsdale an eight-point lead with 7:21 left in the contest.

To view the box score from Thursday’s game, click on the link below.

Box score