Men's Basketball Falls In Overtime At Hillsdale 85-75

OVERVIEW – HILLSDALE

SCORE:  Hillsdale Chargers 85, Northwood Timberwolves 75

RECORDS: Northwood (4-11, 2-4 GLIAC) Hillsdale (6-7, 2-5 GLIAC)

LOCATION: Potter Arena – Hillsdale, Mich.

RECAP: Hillsdale breaks open a tight game by controlling the extra session in an 85-75 overtime win over Northwood Thursday night (January 5).

FIRST HALF

• Northwood held an eight point lead early, which proved to be the biggest lead for either team. Neither team led by then four points in the final nine minutes of the half. The score was eventually tied 36-36 at the break.  
• While Hillsdale shot it better from the floor than Northwood (56.0 percent-46.2 percent), the Timberwolves were 5-12 from 3-point range compared to HC at 1-7. Both teams made seven free throws in the half.

SECOND HALF

• Northwood was the better team at the start of the second half, scoring 14 points in the opening six minutes to open up a 50-43 lead.
• Much like the opening half, Hillsdale fought back and eventually was up by as many as five (62-57).
• The final minutes of the game were extremely close – the biggest lead of the last 5:52 of the contest was two points. NU led by two when the Chargers connected on a triple with 16.1 seconds remaining to put HC up 71-70. After Northwood missed a shot, Hillsdale was fouled to set up the 1-1 at the foul line. HC missed the free throw, which was grabbed by PJ Weaver. Weaver was then fouled in the backcourt, setting up NU with two free throws at the other end with 2.6 seconds remaining. Weaver made one, sending the game to overtime tied 71-71.

OVERTIME

• The Chargers connected on a 3-pointer on their first possession of overtime and did not look back. Hillsdale eventually scored the first seven points of the extra session out-scored Northwood 14-4 in overtime.
• HC went 3-4 from the floor and 2-3 from 3-point range in OT, while NU was 2-9 from the floor and 0-5 from 3-point range.

GAME STATS

• FG PERCENTAGE: Hillsdale .534 (31-58), Northwood .422 (27-64)
• 3-PT PERCENTAGE: Hillsdale .310 (9-29), Northwood .261 (6-23)
• FREE THROW PERCENTAGE: Hillsdale .538 (14-26), Northwood .625 (15-24)
• REBOUNDS: Hillsdale 37 (two offensive), Northwood 39 (eight offensive)
• ASSISTS/TURNOVERS: Hillsdale 16/8, Northwood 11/9

GAME NOTES

• Northwood finished with an 11-3 advantage in second chance points, while Hillsdale ended up with an 11-3 edge in points off turnovers.
• The game featured nine ties and 12 lead changes.

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Nick Spitzley: 20 points, 7-13 from the floor, 4-7 from 3-point range, four rebounds
• Brad Schaub: 14 points, four rebounds, four assists
• PJ Weaver: 14 points, six rebounds
• Matt Crowl: 10 points, nine rebounds

UP NEXT

• The Timberwolves will travel to Ohio Dominican Saturday (December 7). Game time is set for 3 p.m.