DETROIT - The Kalamazoo College men's basketball team lost 74-66 at NCAA Division II Wayne State University on Wednesday.
Kalamazoo turned the ball over on its first four possessions and found itself quickly trailing 7-0. The Hornets recovered and used a 9-2 run to even the score at 9-9 just under four minutes into the contest.
A Mark Ghafari 3-pointer gave the Hornets their first lead of the game (19-16) with 10:50 left in the first half, but the Hornets ended up trailing 37-32 at the break.
Aaron Schoenfeldt's layup early in the second half (17:12) put Kalamazoo back on top 40-39. The Hornets led again (54-52) with 10:14 remaining, but the score was tied back up (60-60) with 4:10 left on the clock. The host Warriors used a 9-1 run over the next three minutes to take a 69-61 lead while scoring nine of their final 14 points on free throws to take the 74-66 final.
Kalamazoo shot 48 percent overall in the first half before dipping to 32.1 percent in the second half to finish at 39.6 percent overall. Wayne State shot 40.3 percent overall.
Kalamazoo outrebounded Wayne State 41-33, including 15-13 on the offensive end resulting in an 11-4 advantage in second chance points.
The Hornets turned the ball over a season-high 20 times which led to 21 points for the Warriors. Wayne State had just eight turnovers.
Mark Ghafari led Kalamazoo with 23 points and seven rebounds while sinking 9-of-10 free throws. Adam Peters added 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting with three blocked shots.
Grant Carey scored nine points with five rebounds off the bench. Aaron Schoenfeldt, Keith Garber, and Chase Baysdell each scored six points with Baysdell grabbing a team-high eight rebounds.
Kalamazoo returns to action at home against Marygrove College on Thursday, Dec. 19 at 7 p.m.