HILLSDALE, Mich. — Fedrick Bowe scored a career-high 27 points, and Michigan Tech went 24-of-27 at the free throw line to defeat Hillsdale 69-61 tonight at Jesse Philips Arena in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball. The Huskies (9-5, 6-3 GLIAC) outscored the Chargers 41-32 in the second half for their third straight win which keeps them in a tie for first in the GLIAC North Division standings.

Hillsdale (5-8, 3-6 GLIAC), which was looking to snap a six-game losing streak, came out hot and held an 18-6 lead after nine minutes of play. Tech answered with a 15-4 run capped by Brandon Ball's three-point play at the 7:34 mark. The Huskies stayed close through the rest of the half and trailed 29-28 at the intermission.

Back-to-back layups for Ball and Sean Geary helped the visitors open the second stanza on a 16-8 surge.

The Chargers climbed back in front on the shoulders of Tony Gugino, who made six straight free throws for a 58-52 HC lead with 5:12 to play. Tech switched to zone and allowed just one field goal the rest of the way while scoring 13 unanswered points.

Bowe's free throws at the 3:26 mark gave Tech a 59-58 edge. Robby Springborn then added a layup before Mike Hojnacki and Bowe each made two more foul shots to push the gap to 65-58.

Hillsdale's lone points in the final 5:12 came on a 3-pointer with 22 seconds left. Ball's layup at :14 and Springborn's free throws at :03 iced the win.

"Fedrick had a breakout type game tonight," said head coach Kevin Luke. "He gave us a spark offensively. The whole team played well on defense. W did what we needed to come out with a win.

"We went to zone to try to disrupt their offense, and it seemed to work. I credit (Assistant Coach Josh) Buettner for saying we should stay in the zone until they scored because they didn't score against it until the very end."

Tech shot 42 percent from the field compared to 37 percent for Hillsdale. The Huskies also tallied a 39-28 rebounding advantage.

Bowe's 27 points came on 7-of-13 field goal shooting and a 13-of-14 effort at the foul line. The 6-5 senior surpassed his old career high of 22 and also added a team-high eight rebounds in tonight's game.

Geary and Ball were Tech's next-highest scorers at eight apiece.

Gugino recorded 21 points to lead the Chargers.

Michigan Tech will have the challenge of playing at No. 1-ranked Findlay on Saturday (Jan. 17). Tipoff against the undefeated Oilers is slated for 3 p.m.