By Mitch Blankespoor
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Kalamazoo College men's basketball team welcomed Collegiate Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) member Elmhurst College to the Anderson Athletic Center for a game against the Bluejays on Wednesday, Dec. 4. Trailing by 13 at halftime, K fought back to within two points in the final seconds of the game. A half-court shot failed to find the net as time expired and the Hornets fell to Elmhurst 78-75.
Elmhurst, which came into the night at 3-2, got off to a fast start. A Bryant Ackerman three pointer with 13:58 to play in the first half gave the visiting Bluejays a 15-5 lead.
"We gave up a lot of easy baskets early on and we weren't playing a whole lot of defense," Kalamazoo Head Coach Eric Dougal said. "We got the looks we wanted early, they just were not falling."
Elmhurst took a 40-27 lead into halftime. The Bluejays shot 47 percent (15-32) from the field in the first half and were also 7-8 from the charity stripe.
Kalamazoo converted just nine of its 31 shots (29 percent) into baskets in the first half and was only 5-8 from the free throw line.
Elmhurst led by as many as 19 in the second half. The Bluejays looked in complete control after a Will Nixon jumper gave them a 61-42 lead with 10 minutes to play.
Kalamazoo would not go away. The Bluejay lead dipped into single digits for the first time in the second half when senior guard Mark Ghafari made two free throws.
"We know we can put points on the board and put them on the board in a hurry," Dougal said. "We stuck to our game plan and shots started to fall."
The Hornets cut the lead to a three points when Ghafari hit a deep three pointer with 29 seconds to play. After Elmhurst converted both free throws, Ghafari again nailed a triple making the score 76-74 with eight ticks left.
Elmhurst made one of two free throws. After a timeout, Elmhurst Head Coach Mike Baines elected to foul rather than give K a look to tie the game. Kalamazoo converted one free throw followed by Elmhurst making one of two as well. With five seconds to play, K trailed 78-75, but could not come up with the miracle half-court shot to send the game into overtime.
Ghafari turned in yet another stellar game scoring over 40 points for the second time this season with 41. The Grosse Pointe Woods native shot 13-23 from the field, 7-13 from beyond the arc, and 8-12 from the free throw line.
"What a gutsy performance from and unbelievable senior," said Dougal. "Going into halftime, we did not work hard enough to get him shots. We made that a focus, and later in the second half, they [Elmhurst] got tired and Mark [Ghafari] made them pay."
No other Hornet finished in double figures. Senior guard Grant Carey and junior forward Adam Peters both finished with nine points.
Elmhurst was led by Nick Sanford with 21 points and nine rebounds while Ackerman and Will Nixon finished with 15 and 10 points respectively.
Kalamazoo, now 3-2 on the season, returns to action Wednesday, Dec. 11, when it travels to Wayne State for 7 p.m. game.