KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Kalamazoo College men's basketball team opened up its 2015-16 season Saturday afternoon and came up just shy of beginning the year with a win as Oberlin College edged past the Hornets, 91-81.
The first half of play was marked by multiple lead changes with neither team going ahead by more than three points.
Tommy Cerven led the way in the first half for the Hornets off the bench scoring eight points as the Hornets trailed just 39-36 at halftime.
Down just four with 16:59 remaining in the second half, Oberlin found a way to extend its lead to 14 over the next five minutes after Kalamazoo had some unfortunate breaks.
The Hornets continued to fight throughout the second half, though. Despite trailing by 20 with 4:52 remaining, K cut the lead to just nine with 23 seconds remaining but was unable to complete the comeback.
Although Kalamazoo was unable to come away with the win, Head Coach Eric Dougal was happy with the way his team performed.
"We just need to get better every day," he said. "Today I felt we got better offensively. We got every look we wanted, there were just times we weren't able to finish."
Leading the way offensively for the Hornets in the season opener was Adam Dykema who ended the game with 18 points.
Demarco Dickerson recorded 15 points off the bench. Chase Baydell added 12 points and six rebounds, which led the team.
"We battled," Dougal said. "I'm proud of our guys. They worked their tails off and their expectations for the season going forward are higher just like the coaching staff. Our guys are going to fight to the death for it."
Kalamazoo will continue its season on Nov. 29 when Manchester College visits Anderson Athletic Center. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.