November 17, 2007 - The equation of balanced offense with a big second-half run equaled the first Hillsdale College win for Charger men's basketball coach John Tharp Saturday night.

The Hillsdale College men's basketball team used an 18-6 run in the first five minutes of the second half to defeat Ferris State University 84-72 in Big Rapids in a non-league contest. Hillsdale is 1-1 overall and will host the University of Indianapolis at 7 p.m. Monday night at the Jesse Philips Arena.

Junior guard Keith MacvKenzie didn't take any two-point field goal attempts in the game, but he didn't need to - his shooting eye from 3-point land was good enough. MacKenzie nailed five 3-point baskets, going 5-for-8 from downtown on his way to a team-high 20 points in the win. MacKenzie added three rebounds and four assists, and was 5-for-6 from the free throw line in an efficient performance. MacKenzie is in his first season at Hillsdale after spending his first two collegiate seasons at Division I Oakland University.

The first half was nip-and-tuck as the two teams exchanged small leads. The Chargers led 34-30 at halftime, but opened the second half with a purpose, quickly expansing the tfour-point lead to 11 with an 11-3 burst in the first two-and-a-half minutes of the final frame.

Two MacKenzie 3-point baskets helped fuel the 18-6 burst by Hillsdale in the second half. The Chargers didn't lead by fewer than 10 points after that run, giving coach Tharp his first official victory as leader of the program.

Hillsdale outscored Ferris State 50-42 in the second half. The Chargers have scored 97 points in the second half of their two games this season. Hillsdale shot 56 percent from the field in the game, compared to 35 percent for the Bulldogs.

Part of the good start by the Chargers came because of its aggressive offensive play. The team went to the free throw line 18 times in the first half, getting the Bulldog starters into foul trouble, while helping to set for themselves an offensive rhythm and an ability to generate high-quality shots.

All five starters scored in double figures for Hillsdale, with junior guard Evan Steward adding 15 points. The GLIAC's free throw shooting percentage leader last season, Steward picked up where he left off by going 11-for-12 from the charity stripe. Junior Travis Worst added 13 points, while senior Tim Homan had 11 points and junior Tony Gugino contributed 10.

Freshman forward Kody Kokx made his collegiate debut in the game for Hillsdale, and had five points, three rebounds and five assists in limited time off the bench. Freshman guard Joe Caruso had six points in the game, going 3-for-5 from the field.

Ferris State was led by Matt DeHart's 15 points.

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

Box score