KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Kalamazoo College men's basketball team fell 87-83 in a closely contested game with Hope on Monday night.
Hope got out to an early 42-24 with six minutes left in the first half, but Kalamazoo was able to go on a 16 to six run in the final minutes to cut the deficit down to just eight at the break.
After a back-and-forth start to the second half, the Hornets gained their first lead since the 19:44 mark in the first half when Ben Reiter connected on one of his three three-pointers to go up 68-67 with seven minutes to play.
The Hornets and Flying Dutchmen traded baskets in the final seven minutes with neither team gaining more than a three point lead until the final seconds.
Reiter led the Hornets on the offensive end by scoring a game-high 23 points on six of 12 shooting from the field. He also collected seven rebounds.
Tanner Blyly added 19 points for Kalamazoo and also grabbed seven rebounds.
Freshman center Drake Thompson scored 11 points and blocked two Hope shots.
The Kalamazoo defense held the conference's second leading scorer, Jason Beckman, to just five points on two of 11 shooting.
Kalamazoo will return to play on Wednesday, Feb. 6 when it plays host to Albion at 7:30 p.m.