HILLSDALE, Mich. – For the second consecutive game, the Ohio Dominican men's basketball team found itself in a one possession game against a top 15 team, but once again dropped the contest, this time 57-41 at No. 15 Hillsdale.

RECORDS

• Ohio Dominican finishes its January slate with two straight losses, falling to 3-5 overall and 3-4 in Great Midwest competition. ODU went 3-3 during its first full month of play this season.
• Hillsdale has now won eight straight games and 7-0 at home this season. The Chargers now have a G-MAC best 11-1 record.

INDIVIDUAL NUMBERS

• Sophomore Sean Marks (Delaware, Ohio) scored 14 of his team-high 18 points in the second half. Marks and freshman Zach Szul (Waterville, Ohio) were the only Panthers with multiple assists as well.
• Szul finished with nine points, seven coming in the opening half. The freshman also grabbed a career-high seven rebounds and had two steals.
• Sophomore Ethan Haynes (Florence, Ky.) pitched in with 11 points and five rebounds. Haynes was 3-for-6 in three-point shots.
• Combining for 15 rebounds were freshman Mitch Wilkinson (Grand Rapids, Mich.) and sophomore Matt Hall (Evanston, Ill.). Wilkinson had eight boards and joined Marks, Szul and Haynes as the only Panthers in the scoring column.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• It was a cold shooting start for both sides, as ODU and HC combined to shoot 13-of-53 (.245) in the first half.
• The Panthers missed their first seven shot attempts and found themselves in an early nine-point hole. Marks scored or assisted on ODU's first seven points, as the deficit was cut to three, 10-7, midway through the opening half.
• Szul gave the Black & Gold its first lead of the game, 14-13, off a step back jumper with 4:52 showing on the first half clock.
• Hillsdale was able to recapture the lead late in the first half and layup from Haynes as time expired cut the Charger advantage to 22-19 at the intermission.
• Out of the break, HC scored six of the first eight points to go in front 28-21. After a timeout by ODU, Marks converted on a four-point play to pull the Panthers within three points, 28-25, just over three minutes into the second stanza.
• Hillsdale responded with a 16-2 scoring run to take a double-digit lead. The Chargers denied every ODU comeback attempt and never gave up their double-digit advantage.

GAME NOTES

• Both teams heated up in the second half, but Hillsdale jumped up 14 percentage points from the first half to the second to finish at .356 (21-59). ODU shot 15-49, a .306 clip.
• Turnovers were key in the second half, a period where ODU had 11 of its season-high 19 turnovers. Hillsdale scored 18 points off the Panther giveaways.

UP NEXT

• A stretch of five games in 10 days continues for ODU, as the Panthers welcome Kentucky Wesleyan for a 5:30 p.m. conference clash on Monday, Feb. 1.

Contact: Tyler Jester

jestert@ohiodominican.edu