February 20, 2008 - The regular season of a college basketball team can be a long and grinding affair. The regular season concludes this weekend for both Hillsdale College teams, but they are also looking forward to the chance to extend their seasons in the upcoming conference tournaments.

Thursday night will be Senior Night at Jesse Philips Arena, as the men's and women's team will recognize the one senior on each roster in a pregame ceremony. The Chargers will host the University of Findlay, with the women's game starting at 6 p.m. and the men's game at 8 p.m.

Saturday, Hillsdale heads east to wrap up the regular season for games against Wayne State University. The women's game starts at 1 p.m., with the men's game to follow at 3 p.m.

The Charger women's team has clinched the GLIAC South Division title, and will host a home quarterfinal tournament game on Saturday, March 1 at 1 p.m., with the opponent yet to be decided.

Hillsdale's men's team can almost assure itself of a conference tournament spot with a win in one of its final two games of the season. The Chargers are currently 7-8 in the GLIAC, and if the postseason were to begin with the standings as they are, Hillsdale would receive a wild-card berth into the playoffs. Hillsdale did not make the GLIAC Tournament last year.

The Charger men face a tough test from Findlay, who comes into the game with a 22-3 record and a number six national ranking. The Oilers thrashed eighth-ranked Gannon 90-61 on Saturday, and are 12-3 in the conference.

Findlay is 34-5 all-time vs. Hillsdale, with the Chargers' last win in the series coming during the 2001-02 season. Findlay won the first meeting between the teams, 82-60, back on Jan. 5 in Findlay's Croy Gymnasium.

The Chargers come into the game on their first two-game winning streak of the month. Hillsdale defeated Ferris State 86-63 on Feb. 14, and edged Tiffin 62-60, in Ohio last Saturday. Hillsdale is 14-11 overall this season.

The Chargers boast of the top two scorers in the GLIAC, in Tony Gugino and Tim Homan. Both are enjoying their most productive seasons of their collegiate career, and in Homan's case, he is winding up his career in fine fashion.

Homan leads the GLIAC in both 3-point field goal percentage and 3-pointers made. He is in the top 20 of all-time scorers in Charger history, and will be playing his final home game Thursday night.

If Hillsdale's men make the GLIAC tournament, the team will be on the road. The top two teams in each division host a first-round game, and the Chargers can only finish as high as third in the South Division.

Hillsdale defeated Wayne State on Feb. 2, in a game that saw Gugino score a career-high 41 points. The Chargers finished the 2006-07 regular season with an 88-83 win over Wayne State in Hillsdale.

Hillsdale's women's basketball team is in the middle of perhaps its finest season in its program's history. The Chargers' 21-3 record is their best 24-game mark in school history, and the team moved up three spots to 19th in the latest ESPN/USA Today Division II Top 25 poll. A win in one of the team's final two games this season will clinch the best overall conference record for Hillsdale this season. But the Chargers still need to win its quarterfinal game on March 1 to host the GLIAC Tournament semifinals and finals, scheduled for March 7-8.

The Chargers beat Findlay 88-74, back on Jan. 5 in a game that saw the Oilers jump out to an early lead, thanks to unconscious 3-point shooting. The Oilers' first seven baskets of the game all came from beyond the arc, and Findlay tied a school record with 12 3-pointers made in that game.

However, Findlay had no answer for the play of Hillsdale junior Katie Cezat. She scored a then-career-high 33 points to help lead the Chargers to a win. Cezat has since exceeded that point total twice, peaking with a school-record 42-point performance against Wayne State on Feb. 2.

Cezat has since been named GLIAC South Division Player of the Week an unprecedented five straight times, and six overall this season. She is the conference leader in points per game and rebounds per game, and is in the top 10 in seven statistical categories. She needs eight rebounds to break the school's single-season rebounding record. Cezat has at least eight rebounds in all 24 of Hillsdale's games this season.

The Chargers are currently ranked second in the Great Lakes Region, only trailing Drury, who is ranked sixth in the nation. Hillsdale is on a season-high nine-game winning streak, that includes wins last weke over Ferris State (83-71) and Tiffin (77-54).

Saturday, the Chargers will finish the regular season at Wayne State, a place that does not hold many fond recent memories for the Chargers. The Warriors have beaten Hillsdale twice in a row in Detroit. The Chargers' last win in the Matthaei Center came on Feb. 12, 2005, in a 102-61 victory.

Click on the links below for more information on this weekend's opponents.

Findlay women's basketball

Findlay men's basketball

Wayne State women's basketball

Wayne State men's basketball