Box score

January 15, 2011 – If ever a 13-1 team was in a must-win situation, it would be the Hillsdale College men’s basketball team entering its home game Saturday afternoon against GLIAC North Division leader Grand Valley State University.

Coming off its first loss of the season, the Chargers were determined to play better against the Lakers, and they did, earning a hard-fought 68-60 win over GVSU at Jesse Philips Arena. The win improves Hillsdale to 14-1 overall and 8-1 in the conference, while the Lakers fell to 13-3 and 8-1 in the GLIAC. Hillsdale will now enter next Thursday’s showdown with the University of Findlay coming off a win, and playing for sole possession of first place in the division against the defending conference champs.

Hillsdale put forth a superior defensive effort in this game, limiting the Lakers to 60 points and 25 percent 3-point shooting in the contest. In its previous four games, Grand Valley State had averaged 81 points per game, and won its previous contest by 51 points. But the Chargers played outstanding team defense, and forced the Lakers to work hard for every point they scored. GVSU shot just 39 percent in the first half, and Hillsdale held a 29-24 lead at intermission. It was just the second time in the past seven games Hillsdale has led the game at halftime, and offensive balance and discipline helped the team maintain that lead throughout the second half.

The Chargers didn’t trail at any point in the second half, and did a great job of answering short Grand Valley scoring runs with one of their own. GVSU pulled to within two points on a three-point play by center Nick Waddell. But junior sharpshooter Brent Eaton responded with a 3-point basket, restoring the lead to five in short order. Eaton and Brad Guinane strung together a total of three straight 3-point baskets in the middle of the second half to give the Chargers comfortable breathing room during that critical part of the game. The Lakers never came closer than five points down in the game’s final eight minutes.

Eaton played a very efficient game on the offensive end of the floor, leading all players with 21 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field. Junior Tyler Gerber carried a big load once again at point guard, logging 37 minutes while producing 14 points, two assists and two steals. Guinane added 15, while redshirt-freshman Tim Dezelski played major minutes off the bench, and contributed seven points and four rebounds in addition to his outstanding low-post defense.

The Chargers finished off the win by going 16-for-18 from the free throw line in the second half, and committed just seven turnovers in the game.

Waddell and Alvin Storrs shared the scoring lead for Grand Valley State with 13 apiece.