By Mitch Blankespoor
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The hot shooting of Trine University caused the Kalamazoo men's basketball team to take a step back in its quest to make postseason play. The Hornets fell to Trine 84-68 Saturday, Feb. 8 in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) play.
Trine began by hitting its first four shots en route to a 10-1 lead. After Kalamazoo's first field goal from junior guard Carter Goetz, the Thunder nailed a three-pointer to take a 13-3 lead. A timeout from Kalamazoo Head Coach Eric Dougal could not cool down Trine's torrid shooting.
Kalamazoo trailed by as many as 19 in the first half and were behind 50-32 at the break. Through one half of play, Trine shot 81 percent (21-26) from the field to go along with a perfect 6-6 from three point land.
The Hornets would get within 13 points when freshman forward Chase Baysdell connected on two free throws, but K would get no closer.
Baysdell finished the game with 16 points and four rebounds. Junior forward Adam Peters tallied 14 poins.
For Trine, Jared Holmquist and Will Dixon led the way in scoring with 25 and 20 points respectively. Tyler Good added 16 points.
As a team, Kalamazoo shot 56 percent for the game compared to 65 percent for Trine. The Hornets connected on 5-16 three-pointers while the Thunder nailed 8-11.
With the loss, Kalamazoo drops to 9-12 on the season and 4-6 in MIAA play. The Hornets currently sit in fifth place, one game behind fourth-place Albion. Kalamazoo returns to action Feb. 12 for a 7:30 p.m. game at Calvin.