KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Kalamazoo College men's basketball fell 68-63 in a back-and-forth game with Olivet at the Anderson Athletic Center on Saturday.
Olivet led in the opening moments of the game before Kalamazoo chipped away to even the score with a sequence highlighted by a Ben Reiter dunk. After the first few minutes, neither team could take more than a one possession lead through the rest of the first half. With just over four minutes remaining the Hornets went on a 11-1 run behind a strong spell of defensive pressure led by Tanner Blyly. Olivet's Tracy Edmund hit a long three at the buzzer to cut into the lead, but Kalamazoo headed into halftime up 34-31.
The game remained tight in the second half as Kalamazoo repeatedly built small leads, but could not stretch them to double digits and Olivet fought back each time. With three minutes remaining the Comets took a 60-59 lead. The teams traded baskets until Tracy Edmund converted a layup while being fouled off of an offensive rebound with nine seconds remaining to seal the game for Olivet.
The Hornets outshot the Comets from the field hitting 44.9 percent of their shots compared to 37.9 percent for Olivet.
Ben Reiter led K with 15 points in 35 minutes of action. Jimmy Paprocki recorded his second career double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Jordan Currie chipped in seven points off of the bench for K.
Jalen Adams led all scorers with 23 points for Olivet.
The Hornets will travel to Albion on Wednesday, Feb. 7th for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.