February 5, 2009 - Holding a halftime lead is nothing new for the Hillsdale College men's basketball team is nothing new. The Chargers have been a strong first-half team throughout this season. But Thursday night, Hillsdale put its maturing game on display in not letting go of that lead in a 79-66 victory over Ferris State University at Jesse Philips Arena.

The Chargers are back over the .500 mark for the season, at 10-9 overall. Hillsdale is also 8-7 in the GLIAC and gained a key conference win (and season sweep) of a team ranked higher than it was in the form of the Bulldogs. FSU is now 11-9 overall and 9-6 in the GLIAC.

The Chargers have either led or been tied at halftime in eight of its past 10 games, but in Saturday's loss at Lake Superior State, Hillsdale was outscored by 11 points in the game's final 20 minutes. The team made sure that did not repeat itself at home Thursday.

The Chargers shot 56 percent from the field in the second half, and in another sign of the team's improving crunch time play, was 14-for-16 from the free throw line in the game's last 20 minutes.

A highlight of the game came when Tony Gugino set the new all-time career blocked shots record at Hillsdale. His second blocked shot of the game, coming at the 19:19 mark of the second half helped him set the new career record with 177. He broke the old record, held by Bill Granberry, who played for the Chargers from 1981-85.

In a game that had its chippy moments, Hillsdale played smart basketball against Ferris State's athletic and ever-changing defense. The Bulldogs switched between zone and man-to-man defenses, but the Chargers did an excellent job of finding the holes in the defense, regardless of its makeup.

In the first half, it was Hillsdale's defense setting the early tone of the contest. The Chargers forced the Bulldogs to miss 14 of their first 15 shots while building a 13-point lead in the first half. Hillsdale did a terrific job at guarding the paint, forcing Ferris State to shoot from the perimeter.

The Chargers went into halftime holding a 37-25 lead. It was the team's second-biggest halftime lead of the season, but the Bulldogs weren't about to let Hillsdale cruise to a win.

Hillsdale built a 14-point lead, 51-37, after a fancy layup by freshman Tyler Gerber. But the Bulldogs quickly closed the gap to five with an 11-2 run over the game's next three minutes. But Hillsdale answered with a key sequence of possessions that helped it regain control of the game.

Senior guard Keith MacKenzie made a long-distance 3-point shot, followed by a nifty three-point play by freshman forward Brad Guinane that helped Hillsdale regain a double-digit lead. The back-to-back three-point possessions seemed to take a little bit of energy away from Ferris State's offense, and helped the Chargers stay within their game plan in the game's final 10 minutes.

Four players scored in double figures for the Chargers, led by 15 from senior Tony Gugino. He was 6-for-10 from the field and had 10 rebounds and two blocked shots.

Senior Travis Worst played an outstanding first half, making hius first five shots from the floor. He finished the game with 13 points and eight boards. MacKenzie had 13 points, six rebounds and five assists, while senior guard Evan Steward tacked on 10 points to Hillsdale's winning effort.

The Chargers will host Grand Valley State University at 3 p.m. Saturday. Click on the link below for Thursday night's box score.

Box score