Box score

December 7, 2010 - In the first half of Tuesday night's men's basketball game between Hillsdale College and Ferris State University, the Bulldogs couldn't miss. But that's why there are two halves to every basketball game, and the Chargers were the beneficiaries of that.

In an epic GLIAC clash, the Chargers came back from an 18-point second-half deficit to defeat FSU 83-76. Hillsdale, now ranked 17th in the nation, its highest-ever Division II national ranking, improves to 9-0 overall and 3-0 in the GLIAC.

The Bulldogs were off-the-charts shooting from the perimeter in the first half, making nine of their 12 3-point shots on their way to a 48-34 lead at halftime. Many of those threes were taken in transition, or were made despite good defense from Hillsdale. Rarely is a team able to shoot so well from that spot on the floor in both halves of a game, and the Chargers took advantage of that.

Ferris State's shooting cooled off, and Hillsdale's defense increased in intensity throughout the second half, as the Bulldogs shot just 2-for-11 from beyond the arc in the game's final 20 minutes. The first of those two second-half 3-pointers was made by Ferris State's Darien Gay, and gave the Bulldogs a 54-36 lead with 18:49 left in the game.

From that point, Hillsdale outscored Ferris State 47-22, winning its most competitive game of this season. That advantage started with an initial run of 13-2 that was capped by a 3-point shot by junior Brent Eaton, who had a career performance in this contest.

Eaton set a career-high with 31 points in the game, going 11-for-16 from the field and 5-for-8 from 3-point land. He scored 21 points in the second half, and did a great job of finding open gaps in the Bulldog defense to release his lethal jump shot. His 31 are the most scored in a game by a Charger men's player since Tony Gugino scored 41 in a win over Wayne State on Feb. 2, 2008.

Hillsdale tied the game 76-76 on a pair of free throws from junior guard Tyler Gerber with 1:51 left in the game. The team then took its first lead of the half on a gorgeous 3-point shot from the right win by senior guard Nick Meinert. By that point, all of the momentum and defensive energy was flowing Hillsdale's way, and the Chargers shut out the Bulldogs in the game's final 2:12.

Junior Brad Guinane had 15 points, six rebounds and three assists for Hillsdale, while Gerber scored nine and dished out six assists. Junior forward Matt Clarke made a terrific contribution off the bench, making all four of his shots for eight points in 12 minutes. Redshirt-freshman forward Tim Dezelski also played terrific defense on Division II preseason player of the year Justin Keenan, logging a career-high 25 minutes on the court. He also had six points and five rebounds for Hillsdale.

Keenan, the reigning GLIAC Player of the Year, had 23 points and nine rebounds for Ferris State, while Gay led the Bulldogs with 27 points, making seven 3-pointers in the game.