Box Score ASHLAND, Ohio – The Eagles looked to their schedule on Sunday (Dec. 19) afternoon and saw a freight train coming at them. Unbeaten Hillsdale, ranked 10th in the country, continued its romp through the early schedule with an 80-50 win over the AU men's basketball team.
The Eagles (4-5, 1-4 GLIAC) played even with the Chargers for much of the first half. AU fell behind 22-14 with 7:20 left in the first half after a jumper by Brad Guinane. The Eagles held the Chargers without a field goal for the next 3:26 to climb within 22-20 on a jumper by senior forward Blake Saunders (Hinsdale, Ill./Sonoma State).
Guinane's layup pushed the HC lead to 24-20, but senior forward Kale Richardson (Carroll, Ohio/Bloom-Carroll) hit two free throws and Saunders made a layup to tie the game at 24-24.
That was as close as the game would get. The Chargers went on a 9-0 run at that point, but junior forward Antoine Childs (Beaver Falls, Pa./Western Carolina) banked in a buzzer-beater three-pointer from half-court to cut the HC lead to 33-27 heading into half.
The Chargers (11-0, 5-0 GLIAC) dominated the second half, outscoring Ashland, 47-23, while limiting the Eagles to just 24 percent shooting from the floor with just five made field goals. Hillsdale shot 60 percent in the second half and 50 percent for the game. The Chargers were 8-for-19 (42 percent) from three-point range.
Richardson paced the Eagles with 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting and nine rebounds. Senior forward Justin Garris (Ledgewood, N.J./NJIT) added 10 points for Ashland.
The Chargers forced the Eagles into 20 turnovers and outscored the Eagles 29-9 in points off turnovers. HC won the rebounding battle, 33-30.
Reigning GLIAC South Player of the Week Brent Eaton led the Chargers with 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including a 4-for-6 mark from three-point range. Guinane added 21 for Hillsdale as the only other Charger in double figures. Nick Meinert scored all of his eight points in the second half.
The Eagles will now take the Christmas break to recuperate and will return to the floor on Dec. 30 when they will host Millersville in nonconference action at Kates Gymnasium. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
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