NMU Men fall to Hillsdale

Courtesy of NMU Athletics

MARQUETTE, Mich. – The undefeated Hillsdale College men’s basketball team defeated Northern Michigan University 70-44 on Thursday (Dec. 6) night at the Berry Events Center in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference home-opener for the Wildcats. The Chargers jumped out of the gate on a 28-6 run and never looked back.

“They outplayed us but at the same time I wasn’t mad at our kids because they were a better team and that’s the bottom line,” NMU coach Doug Lewis said.

With the loss, NMU is now 1-5 overall and 0-3 in the GLIAC. Hillsdale improves to 6-0 and 3-0 in conference play.

After the Chargers jumped out to a quick 18-point lead, the Wildcats climbed back into the game with a 9-0 run to close the final four minutes before halftime. Hillsdale led by seven (31-24) at the break.

In the second half, the GLIAC south opponents once again took control with a 21-point (53-32) lead after a 22-8 run before the second media timeout. The Chargers outscored NMU 39-20 in the second half.

Senior forward TJ Cameron was the lone Wildcat in double figures with 11 points. He shot 4-for-9 from the field including 2-for-4 from beyond the arc.  Junior forwards Matt Craggs and Scooter Johnson each added nine while freshman Stephen Pelkofer added seven points and four assists in his first start at point guard.

The ‘Cats shot 38 percent from the field on 17-of-45 and 5-of-11 from long range.

The Chargers had four players in double figures led by Tim Dezelski and Nick Washburn with a game-high 17 points each. Brandon Pritzl had 15 and Tony Nelson added 10.

Hillsdale finished the game shooting 51 percent from the floor on 25-of-49. The Chargers also connected on 11-for-19 (58 percent) from three-point territory and outrebounded the ‘Cats 31-17.

NMU hosts No. 13-ranked Findlay at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The Oilers were handed their first GLIAC loss (66-49) on Thursday night at Michigan Tech.