HILLSDALE, Mich. – Hillsdale quickly jumped out to a big lead and held on to deal the Yellow Jackets an 84-71 G-MAC setback.
After Cedarville scored the first basket of the game, the Chargers responded with 16 unanswered points en route to a 23-6 lead.
The Jackets clawed back to within 41-34 at halftime and finally knotted the score, 54-54, on a basket by
Anthony Ruffolo with 12:19 remaining.
While CU could never grab the lead it was tied two more times, the last of which was 64-64 on a three-point play by Ruffolo at the 6:24 mark.
However, Hillsdale scored seven of the next eight points to regain control.
Will Gibson netted a team-high 17 points prior to fouling out for the Yellow Jackets, 8-7 overall and 3-4 G-MAC.
Ruffolo finished with 16 points and
Sam Johnson scored 13.
Quotable: Head Coach Rob Jones
"Hillsdale came out strong and we didn't have an answer early, which put us in a hole. I was proud of how our guys responded to cut it to seven by halftime and play with poise for much of the second half. The last four minutes were the difference — we couldn't get the defensive stop and score we needed. There were good stretches, but not enough to earn a road win. We'll learn from it and turn our attention quickly to a tough Ashland team on Saturday."
Five Facts:
- Gibson notched his fourth game, scoring in double figures.
- Johnson is averaging 18 ppg while shooting .673 from the field in the last five contests.
- CU committed less than ten turnovers (8) for the seventh time while forcing 11 by the Chargers.
- Hillsdale shot .588 from the field – the second-best mark by an opponent behind Quincy (.608).
- It's the only time the two sides meet this regular season.
