Hillsdale 62, Saginaw Valley State 50

February 18, 2012 - A little more than two years ago, the Hillsdale College men's basketball team made a three-hour trip home from mid-Michigan after a loss, dropping its record to 1-10. Saturday night, the team made another trip back from the middle part of the state, only this time, it came home champions.

The Chargers wrapped up the 2011-12 GLIAC regular season championship with a 62-50 win over Saginaw Valley State University Saturday night near Saginaw. Hillsdale is now 21-4 overall and 15-3 in the GLIAC. It's Hillsdale's first conference championship since the 1980-81 season.

The Chargers hold a 2 1/2-game lead over Ferris State with two games to play for the Bulldogs, thereby clinching not only the conference regular season title, but the No. 1 seed in the GLIAC Tournament, which begins Wednesday, Feb. 29.

Veteran members of this Chargers team, who were young starters on that 2009-10 team that started the season with 10 losses in 11 games, were determined to change the direction of the program. They hung their hat on the word "revolution," and they didn't wait long to put that word into action, recovering from that start to finish the season 15-3 while advancing to the GLIAC Tournament championship game for just the second time in program history.

The revolution started then, and ask any of the players and coaches, it hasn't finished yet, by any means. But Saturday's victory was as sweet as it could be.

Thanks to Findlay's 74-69 victory over Ferris State earlier Saturday, the Chargers entered Saturday night's game at Saginaw Valley State with a chance to clinch the top seed, if they could win. Just like most worhtwhile things in life, winning this game, and this championship, was not easy.

The Cardinals contained the Chargers throughout the first half, allowing Hillsdale only a one-point lead at halftime, 26-25. Thanks in part to SVSU's athletic, long-armed defense, Hillsdale missed its first 12 straight shots from the 3-point stripe. The Chargers did control the game on the boards, and did a better job of getting to the free throw line, two things that kept the team competitive.

Nick Washburn was another big reason.

The junior three-year starting center enjoyed the most productive game of his career, finishing with a career-high 26 points, to go along with seven rebounds and two assists. He found a nice rhythm backing his man down in the low post early in the game, and he had good spring in his step throughout his 27 minutes on the court. He was 10-for-19 shooting from the field, and made six of his seven free throws.

SVSU held a 42-34 lead with 13:30 left in the second half after an 11-2 spurt. The Cardinals led the game by one as late as the 5:42 mark remaining, 48-47. That's when Hillsdale seized its opportunity to become champions.

The Chargers finished the game on a 15-2 run, a run that was started and finished by senior forward Brad Guinane (17 points). A four-year starter, Guinane has enjoyed his best season in 2011-12, and it was very appropriate that his two made free throws started the run, and a 3-point shot ended the run.

Senior guard Tyler Gerber increased the lead to four, 52-48, with a 3-point basket on the next possession after Guinane's two free throws. His shot from beyond the arc was the first three of the game for the Chargers, and momentum was all Hillsdale's at that point.

Hillsdale scored on each of its six possessions to end the game, while holding the Cardinals to two points in the game's final 5:42.

Although the Chargers shot less than 40 percent from the field, the team's continued aggressiveness on the offensive end of the floor was rewarded by a 15-2 scoring edge from the free throw line over the Cardinals. Hillsdale was 15-for-20 from the free throw line, compared to 2-for-4 for SVSU.

Sophomore Tim Dezelski had eight points and nine rebounds off the bench for the Chargers, while all six of Gerber's points came on two 3-pointers late in the second half.

Hillsdale will enter the 2012 GLIAC Tournament as the #1 seed, but must win its first-round game on Feb. 29 in order to host the semifinals and finals, which are scheduled for March 3-4. The matchups for the tournament won't be set until after the conclusion of the regular season, Feb. 25.