Hillsdale 82, Ashland 79 (OT)

December 17, 2011 – It took overtime, but the Hillsdale College men’s basketball team was able to go into its Christmas break with a victory.

Fighting off a team it beat by 27 points on the road two weeks ago, the Chargers were able to gut out an 82-79 overtime win over the Ashland University Eagles Saturday afternoon at Jesse Philips Arena. Hillsdale improves to 9-1 overall and 5-0 in the GLIAC with the win, and will maintain hold on first place in the South Division.

Back on Dec. 1, the Chargers pounded the Eagles 70-43 in Ashland in the conference opener for both teams. Saturday’s game was a much different story, as the Eagles played with toughness, made big shots and seemed to pick up energy as the game went along.

The end of overtime was heavy with drama. The game was tied at 79, with Ashland taking possession with 28 seconds to go, intending to take the final shot. Charger senior Brad Guinane, who came agonizingly close to a triple double, swooped in from the weak side and blocked a shot by Ashland’s Evan Yates. A foul was called on Ashland during the scrap for the rebound, then a technical foul was called on the Eagles’ bench. Suddenly, the Chargers had four free throws with two seconds left in a tie game.

Tyler Gerber and Brent Eaton combined to make three of the four free throws to put the game away. Ashland had one final, desperate shot at the basket, but didn’t come close to generating a good shot with just 1.3 seconds left on the clock.

Guinane’s block provided the perfect end point to one of the finest games of his splendid career. He finished the game with 19 points, nine rebounds, a career-high 10 assists and two blocked shots. He proved to be a tough matchup for the Eagles all day long, and played an intelligent game, going at the basket when the floor opened up, while finding open teammates effectively.

Gerber heated up in the game’s final eight minutes, and finished with 19 points, six assists and three steals in 34 minutes. He buried a 3-point shot off a screen that switched momentum back over to Hillsdale’s side during the overtime.

Senior Nick Washburn had 14 points and six rebounds for Hillsdale, while Eaton tallied 13 in the victory.

Hillsdale got off to a good start, taking an 18-8 lead early in the first half. The Chargers maintained a 10-point lead at halftime, but Ashland became the aggressor in the second half, knocking down long shots while slowing down Hillsdale’s offense. Less than four minutes into the second half, Hillsdale’s lead was chopped down to two points, and the Chargers were in a fight from that point forward.

Hillsdale regained a 10-point lead, but a 15-4 Ashland run gave the Eagles a 64-63 lead with 3:26 to play. Neither team led by more than two the rest of the way, and the game featured eight ties.