HILLSDALE, Mich. - The Ohio Dominican Panthers (1-5, 0-2 G-MAC) men's basketball team attempted to erase a late second half deficit on the road at Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena on Saturday (Dec. 2) afternoon. 

The Hillsdale Chargers (6-1, 2-0 G-MAC) nearly lost a 13-point second half lead in a 60-54 win. Four players ended in double figures for the Panthers.

BOX SCORE NOTES

• JeJuan Weatherspoon (Columbus, Ohio) finished with his third consecutive double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds. He blocked two shots for the Panthers. Weatherspoon now has four double-doubles in six games this season.
• Sean McKitrick (Dayton, Ohio) scored ten points with three field goals (two threes) and a pair of free throws. He grabbed a career-high five rebounds.
• Luke Ruth (Grove City, Ohio) went six-of-ten on the day with two free throw makes in an 14-point effort. He assisted on four of the five noted assists in the contest.
• Caleb Brooks (Florence, Kentucky) added ten points off the bench on four field goals and two free throws. He blocked the third rejection for the Panthers. He tallied nine points in the first half.
• The Panthers outshot the Chargers for the contest with a 21-of-52 line from the floor (40.4%). The Chargers finished at 39.7% (23-58).
• The rebounding category was tied at 36 apiece.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Weatherspoon gave ODU a 3-2 lead with an opening minute three ball. After trailing 4-3, Ohio Dominican scored four straight points on baskets by Ruth and McKitrick for a 7-5 lead.
• ODU pushed the lead to as many as three three different times before Hillsdale gained a 16-14 lead with 9:23 left on the clock.
• The Chargers led by seven twice in the final four minutes but Ohio Dominican closed the first half on a 5-0 run over 2:49 to trail 29-27 at halftime.
• In the second half, Ohio Dominican got within 40-36 at the 13:23 mark before Hillsdale went on a 9-0 run to lead 49-36 with 11:59 to go in the game.
• Ohio Dominican bounced back with an 8-0 run of their own with threes from McKitrick and Parker Swartz (Grand Rapids, Michigan). The Hillsdale lead shrunk to 49-44 with under ten minutes on the clock.
• Little by little, the Panthers continued to chip away and get the Chargers on the ropes late in the second half.
• Ohio Dominican split a pair of free throws with 2:22 left to trail 54-53, the closest the Panthers were since 34-33 in the beginning of the second half.
• Hillsdale went on to win the game 60-54, narrowly escaping an upset from the Panthers.

UP NEXT

• The Panthers will play in their final conference game before Christmas break next Saturday (Dec. 9) on the road at Tiffin, starting at 3:00 PM. On Sunday (Dec. 10), Ohio Dominican will play in an exhibition at Bowling Green.