COLUMBUS - The Ohio Dominican Panthers men's basketball team will play the final contests of the season series this week against two familiar foes.

The Panthers will host the Cedarville Yellow Jackets on Thursday (Jan. 12) at 7:30 PM before heading to Michigan on Saturday (Jan. 14) to play the #10/8 ranked Hillsdale Chargers. 

GAME NOTES Games 15-16 (PDF)

OPENING TIPOFF

• Ohio Dominican opened 2023 with an 85-76 defeat at the hands of Malone last Thursday in Canton. The Panthers are 5-9 overall and 2-6 in the G-MAC. 
• Zach Szul (Waterville, Ohio) set a 2022-23 season best with 30 points at Malone with seven assists. He was 8-of-14 overall, 5-of-8 from deep and 9-of-9 at the free throw line. He set career-highs in assists and threes made last time out. Overall, Szul leads the team with 15.3 points and 3.5 assists per game. In conference games, Szul is scoring 19.0 points per game (2nd in the G-MAC) and has made 35-of-38 free throws (92.1% - 3rd best). He has ten games in double-digits with four games of 20+ points. Among active career conference players, Szul is ranked 3rd with 13.8 points per game. 
• Keshawn Heard (Newark, Ohio) scored 12 points on four three pointers and six rebounds. Since returning from injury on 12/10, Heard is scoring 10.2 points per game with a .389/.354/.800 clip and six blocks. He has four games of 6+ boards and three games with at-least four triples. 
• Ethan Haynes (Florence, Kentucky) also hit four threes for 12 points at Malone. In his last two games, Haynes is averaging 14.5 points per game while shooting .714 (10-14) overall and .692 (9-13) from three. 
• Marcus Johnson (Columbus, Ohio) scored 16 points off the bench, the second 15+ point effort as a reserve. As a bench player, Johnson is averaging 8,0 points per game while shooting 57.1. As a team, ODU  averages 20.64 BPPG, 5th in the G-MAC. 
• The Panthers have committed 13 turnovers in the last two games, only the 2nd and 3rd times with under 10 turnovers this season. They had eight turnovers against Hillsdale last month. 
• In the Division II series history (dating back to 2010-11), ODU and Cedarville have met 12 times. Cedarville leads the D2 series 9-3 with the last four victories. Cedarville won the first matchup 102-64 last month on the road. ODU is 1-3 against the Jackets on Sunbury Road. 
• In the Division II series history, ODU and Hillsdale have met 24 times with Hillsdale leading 19-5. The Chargers have taken the last six games, including a 80-74 win in Columbus last month. Hillsdale is undefeated in the series in DTP Arena, winning 11 straight.
• The Panthers have played 27 ranked opponents in the Division II era, holding a record of 2-25. ODU is 0-7 against Hillsdale when ranked and 0-7 against top ten teams. 

ABOUT THE YELLOW JACKETS

• Cedarville comes to Columbus with a 11-4 overall record and 4-3 G-MAC mark entering play on Thursday. 
• Since playing the Panthers on Dec. 15., Cedarville is 5-1 overall and 3-1 in conference games. The Yellow Jackets swept Central State (107-73) and Ohio Christian (98-68) at home before Christmas break. Since the break, Cedarville is 2-1 with wins over Tiffin (89-73) and Findlay (85-72) at the Callan Athletic Center. Last week, Cedarville fell to Ashland 69-68 late. 
• Jayvon Maughmer leads the Jackets with 16.7 points per game, sitting fourth in the conference. He is shooting .502 from the floor. He paces the Jackets in steals with 1.7 steals per game (25). 
• Jacob Drees averages 14.9 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.9 blocks per game while shooting .590 overall. He ranks 1st in FG% and 9th in D2 (.621), and in rebounds and assist/turnover ratio (2.5). He is the reigning G-MAC/NCCAA Player of the Week after a triple-double (20 P/12 R/11 A) against Findlay. He has five straight double-doubles and eight for the year.  
• Grant Whisman is 2nd on the team with 15.2 points per game and a team and G-MAC high .454 three point percentage. 
• Cedarville averages 83.5 points scored (1st in G-MAC), 35.6 rebounds, and is shooting .483 overall (.375 from deep). The opposition is scoring 71.3 points per game, grabbing 34.3 rebounds and holding a .443 clip shooting (.350 from three). 
• They are 2nd in D2 for three pointers per game (12.0) and three point attempts (32.4). 

ABOUT THE CHARGERS

• Hillsdale has a 14-1 record in the 2022-23 season while leading the G-MAC at 7-1 through January 10th. They play at home against Northwood on Thursday before hosting the Panthers. 
• Hillsdale was slotted 8th in the nation in the most recent D2SIDA poll, and 10th in the NABC national rankings. The Chargers also are currently the top-ranked team in the Midwest in the D2SIDA regional poll, receiving four out of first-place votes.
• Four players sit in double digit scoring for the Chargers this season, all with at least 11 PPG. 
• Jack Gohlke is the leading scorer with 12.7 points per game while shooting .410 from the floor and .373 from deep (team and G-MAC high 44 threes). 
• Joe Reuter (12.5 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 2.3 APG) and Peter Kalthoff (12.2 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 1.0 BPG) have nearly identical stat lines. Kalthoff is shooting at a .543 clip (5th in G-MAC) with 15 blocks. 
• Kyle Goessler is fourth in scoring for the Chargers, adding 11.5 points per game.
• Cole Nau leads the team in assists (3.3 APG) and steals (1.2 SPG). 
• Hillsdale averages 74.8 points scored, 33.6 rebounds on offense and is shooting .488 overall (.381 from deep). The opposition is scoring 60.9 points per game, grabbing 30.7 rebounds and holding to a .415 clip shooting (.272 from three). 
• HC leads the G-MAC in scoring defense (7th in D2), assist/turnover ratio (9th in D2) and three-point defense (5th in D2). 

UP NEXT

• Ohio Dominican will wrap up non-conference play on January 18th with a home contest against Salem at 6:00 PM. 

Contact: Tyler Stotsky
stotskyt@ohiodominican.edu