Box Score
HILLSDALE, Mich. -- The Ohio Dominican men's basketball team outscored nationally ranked Hillsdale in the second half of Thursday night's Great Midwest game, but could not overcome a slow start in a 74-58 loss to the No. 15 Chargers.
Hillsdale (7-1, 3-0 G-MAC) raced out to an early 10-point advantage, but Matt Hall (Evanston, Ill.) came off the bench to help ignite a Panther run. A layup from Hall closed the Panthers' deficit to six points, 20-14, with just over eight minutes remaining in the first half.
The Chargers, however, responded with a 7-0 scoring spurt to take a 27-14 advantage. Hillsdale added seven of the final nine points before the intermission and led 40-22 at the break.
Behind a scoring surge from Alek West (Sylvania, Ohio), ODU rallied to close its deficit to eight points, 57-49, with just over 11 minutes left to play. West scored all 14 of his points in the second half and was joined by Mitch Wilkinson (Grand Rapids, Mich.), who had a pair of three pointers during the scoring run to start the second half.
The Panthers (1-8, 0-3 G-MAC) tightened up defensively, holding Hillsdale without a point for four minutes and without a field goal for a stretch of 6:54 in the second half. ODU was within single digits, 58-49, with under seven minutes remaining.
Hillsdale though, scored on its next four offensive possessions and extended its lead to 68-54 with five minutes showing on the second half clock. Overall, the Chargers closed the game by making seven of their final 10 field goal attempts to win by 16 points, 74-58.
Sean Marks (Delaware, Ohio) scored 10 of his team-high 18 points in the second half. Marks made four triples and led ODU with five assists. Hall and Wilkinson pitched in eight points each off the bench, with Hall also recording a career-high 12 rebounds.
Ohio Dominican continues its road trip with a 3 p.m. tipoff at Findlay on Saturday, Dec. 11.
jestert@ohiodominican.edu
