A slow start offensively was too much to overcome for the Charger men's basketball team Saturday as they dropped the regular season finale 86-84 against Dordt.
 
The Charger offense was slow out of the gate trailing 17-7 at the midway point of the first half. Back-to-back treys from Conner Groves and a pair of free throws from Andrew Gibb cut the Dordt lead to four with 8:11 left. Cliff outscored Dordt 10-3 over the final 2:12 of the first half, trailing 39-30 at the halftime break.
 
Wil Johnson knocked down a 3-pointer to start the second half, jump starting a 15-3 Charger run over the next four minutes to take a 45-42 lead. The score stayed within four points over the next ten minutes, including nine lead changes.
 
With just under five minutes remaining the Defenders began to pull away with a 12-1 run to take a 81-72 lead with just 2:25 left. BC answered with a 12-4 run, knocking down 4-of-5 3-point attempts to pull within one point with just seven seconds left. Dordt split a pair of free throws to go up two points, and with seconds left on the game clock Kleinhesselink's kick-out pass was stolen by Jacob Vis to seal the win for Dordt.
 
"After digging ourselves in a hole we really got going in the second half," said head coach Mark Svagera. "I'm really proud of the way our guys battled today."
 
Seniors Ethan Freidel and Wil Johnson scored 13 points and 11 points, respectively. The duo played big minutes in the second half, combining to score 17 points.
 
"I'm really proud of our seniors. They've given a lot to our program over the last four years and it was great to see Ethan and Wil both have big games today," said Svagera.
 
Conner Groves led the Chargers with 15 points and knocked down 4-of-7 3-point attempts. Hoyt scored 12 points on 4-of-5 treys and Vasa Quinten Vasa added 10 points and six rebounds. Codey Hicks chipped in eight points off the bench and tallied two blocks.
 
BC turned the ball over less (10-15) which converted to 17 points off turnovers compared to just six points for Dordt. Dordt held the edge in the paint scoring 37 points, including nine second chance points.
 
Jesse Jansma scored a game high 21 points, grabbed six rebounds, and recorded five assists. Cade Bleeker and Bryce Coppock chipped in 14 points apiece.  
 
"As frustrating as it is to drop today's game, I believe the intensity helps to prepare us for postseason play," noted Svagera.
 
The Chargers will now look ahead to the GPAC post season tournament as they matchup with the Northwestern Red Raiders. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. Wednesday night in Orange City, Iowa.