November 15, 2007 - On the same day the 2007 Hillsdale College volleyball season officially ended, the 2007-08 Charger men's basketball season began. Unfortunately, both teams finished the day with a defeat.

The Charger men's basketball team, with first-year head coach John Tharp making his regular season coaching debut, lost at Bellarmine 80-71 in Louisville, Ky. Thursday night. Hillsdale is 0-1 on the season and will take on Ferris State University in a non-league road game Saturday night.

Hillsdale dug itself a 12-point deficit in the first half, and despite a strong finish, the team was not able to overcome that deficit. Bellarmine built up a 36-24 halftime lead and withstood a furious Charger run late in the second half.

Bellarmine led by as many as 21 points midway through the second half, but Hillsdale battled back with a 22-9 run that sliced the deficit to as little as eight points, 74-66, in the game's final three minutes. But Hillsdale ran out of time in its comeback attempt.

The amped-up Charger defense played a big role in mounting the second-half comeback. Hillsdale forced 28 turnovers in the game while committing just 18. But Bellarmine's big edge in field goal percentage (55-41) negated its turnovers.

Senior forward Tim Homan led Hillsdale with 19 points, connecting on four 3-point field goals. Junior center Tony Gugino had 12 points and eight rebounds, while junior guard Keith MacKenzie added 15 points and three rebounds for the Chargers.

Click on the link below for the box score from the game.

Box score