February 14, 2008 - The Hillsdale College men's basketball team appeared to be glad to be back playing on its home court Thursday night.

After a tough set of games in Erie, Pa. last weekend, the Chargers found the winning formula again, defeating Ferris State 86-63 Thursday night in Jesse Philips Arena. Hillsdale is now 13-11 overall and 7-8 in the GLIAC. The team greatly improved its chances for making the GLIAC Tournament with this victory.

A tightly played first half saw the Chargers carry a slim 38-32 lead into halftime. But Hillsdale overpowered Ferris State in the second half, outscoring the visitors 48-31 in the game's final 20 minutes.

The Chargers had one of their most balanced offensive games of the season. Five different players scored in double figures, led by Tony Gugino's 19 points. Gugino became the 30th player in program history to score more than 1,000 points for his career, and he's the first in several years to do it before he became a senior. Gugino also had seven rebounds and two helpers in the game. He made 13 of his 14 free throw attempts in the contest.

Junior guard Keith MacKenzie played an aggressive offensive game, scoring 18 points on 6-for-11 shooting from the floor. MacKenzie and his teammates took very good care of the basketball, committing just seven turnovers as a team, while forcing the Bulldogs into 20 turnovers.

Senior Tim Homan scored 14 points, while guard Evan Steward added 13. Junior Travis Worst scored 11 points to round out the scoring leaders for Hillsdale.

Bryan Pasciak led Ferris State with 16 points.

Hillsdale travels to Tiffin University Saturday for a non-league game against the Dragons. The game will start at 4 p.m.

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