KALAMAZOO - Mark Ghafari became the 22nd player in school history to score 1,000 career points as Kalamazoo College defeated Earlham College 102-83 on Friday.
Earlham scored the opening basket of the game, but Kalamazoo scored the next 10 points and never trailed the rest of the contest.
Kalamazoo led 25-20 with 9:15 left in the first half, but extended the lead to 15 points (51-36) going into the break.
The visiting Quakers (0-4) cut the deficit to 11 points (58-47) four minutes into the second half, but were unable to get any closer as the Hornets withstood each Earlham offensive surge.
"It was a great team effort all around," said Kalamazoo Head Coach Eric Dougal. "We had huge contributions from a number of different players. We moved Mark [Ghafari] around which led to a number of easy baskets tonight while our defensive pressure made it hard for them to sustain any runs."
Kalamazoo shot 48.1 percent overall despite making just 4-of-15 three-pointers. The Hornets made 32-of-44 free throws in a game in which 48 total fouls were called. Earlham shot 39.1 percent while hitting 10-of-35 three-pointers and 19-of-25 free throws. Kalamazoo dominated the boards, outrebounding Earlham 55-31, including 14-5 on the offensive end resulting in a 20-5 advantage in second chance points. Kalamazoo also outscored Earlham 46-22 inside the paint.
Mark Ghafari led the Hornets with 20 points and five rebounds while sinking 8-of-8 free throws, including a pair to reach the 1,000 career point mark. He followed those free throws with a three-pointer two possessions later to lift his current total to 1,003.
"Mark is a great competitor and a great teammate," said Dougal. "Reaching that milestone couldn't happen to a better guy, but I know he is not worried about individual accolades and is much happier that we are 2-0."
Grant Carey poured in 17 points in 17 minutes off the bench while sharing the team lead with eight rebounds.
"Grant played his best game since I have been here," Dougal said.
Adam Peters scored 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting with seven rebounds and a team-high five assists. Chase Baysdell added 10 points, five rebounds, and two assists in 16 minutes off the bench.
"Peters really played well in both games and already has a great assist-to-turnover ratio (10-4)," Dougal added.
Aaron Schoenfeldt scored nine points with eight rebounds while Josh Miller finished with eight points and five rebounds in a productive 11 minutes of play. Carl Ghafari and Josh Whitney each added six points with Whitney also contributing four assists.
The Kalamazoo College men's basketball team (2-0) takes a week break from competition for exams before hosting Bluffton University on Nov. 30 at 3 p.m.