Charger Sports Update: Men's basketball defeats Ohio Dominican; face Wesleyan this week
HILLSDALE — Hillsdale College men's basketball won two pivotal G-MAC contests in a row against Northwood and Ohio Dominican in just the span of two days.
The #8 Chargers have been able to control the flow of their games with their stifling defensive efforts. This time they held Ohio Dominican to just 52 points at home on Saturday. The Ohio Dominican Panthers struggled from the floor, shooting just 35.6%. The Panthers only hit three shots from the arc all night.
The Chargers shot 43.4% from the flow and were five of 16 from three-point range, but their team was able to attack in the paint, scoring 32 from inside the arc. Ohio Dominican aided in the Charger offensive effort by gifting them 12 turnovers that turned into 16 crucial points. Close to five Charger players neared double figures when the stats were added up. They were led by Jack Gohlke, who knocked down three of Hillsdale's five made three-pointers and finished with 15 points and two assists.
Peter Kalthoff had a career-high game against Northwood just two days prior, and he returned to the court to chip in 14 points and five rebounds. Joe Reuter missed a double-double, finishing with 13 points and nine rebounds. Kyle Goessler finished with 10 points, three rebounds and two assists. Senior point guard Cole Nau contributed eight points, five rebounds and three steals for the Chargers.
With the win, Hillsdale improves to 16-1 overall, 9-1 in the G-MAC, and remains a perfect 9-0 at home this season. The victory, coupled with Walsh's 74-45 win over Ashland, means the Chargers now have a full game lead over both the Cavaliers and Eagles in the G-MAC standings, with three more teams two games back. The Chargers are currently ranked anywhere from #8 and #10 in the latest national polls.
Up next for Hillsdale is a trip south that starts with a dangerous and talented Kentucky Wesleyan team on Thursday night. With several games between teams who sit behind Hillsdale in the overall standings, the Chargers will look to take advantage of those showdowns by winning and building their conference lead.
For his efforts last week, senior Center Peter Kalthoff was named the G-MAC Men's basketball player of the week. The senior had a dominant performance in the 87-69 win over Northwood. He shot for a career-high 29 points, the most by a Charger in a single game this season. He shot 14 of 18 in that contest and also grabbed 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.
Kalthoff is leading the Chargers in scoring (13.3 ppg), rebounding (6.6 rpg) and blocks (0.9 bpg) through 17 games while scoring in double digits 12 times. In the G-MAC, Kalthoff currently ranks 11th in scoring, fifth in rebounding and third in field goal percentage.
This week, the Chargers face Kentucky Wesleyan on the 19th and Trevecca Nazarene on the 21st.
This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Charger Men's Basketball takes down Ohio Dominican
