CHICAGO, Ill. - The Kalamazoo College men's basketball team traveled to play Chicago after an 11-day layoff on Wednesday evening (Nov. 30). After the Hornets held a five-point lead at halftime, the Maroons used an 11-0 run to grab the lead indefinitely en route to a 72-63 win.

It was a back-and-forth battle in the first half as the lead changed hands 15 times in the first 20 minutes. Eight different Hornets contributed to the scoring column, with newcomer Carter Bandemer leading the way with 11 points off the bench. He was a perfect 4-4 from the field, including three makes from beyond the arc. With the game tied at 30 a piece and less than two minutes remaining, Josh Decker scored the last five points to make the score 35-30 heading into the locker room.

After the Maroons began the second half with an 11-0 run, Kalamazoo stopped the bleeding and eventually tied the game back up at 43 with 14:16 remaining in the game. Another eight-point burst by Chicago was the dagger as they held the lead for the rest of the game. After the deficit grew to 14 points, the Hornets tried crawling their way back into the game, cutting it down to six. However, the Maroons made free throws down the stretch to secure the nine-point victory.

Decker led all scorers with 20 points with the help of five makes from beyond the arc. Bandemer finished with 15 points off the bench, and DJ Courtney was the final Hornet in double figures at 10. Courtney was also the leading rebounder at eight, with three assists and two steals.

Six other Hornets scored at least a bucket as Lukas Broadsword (5), Nicholas Olmeda (3), Addison Atwater (3), JJ Stevens (3), Caleb Caul (2), and Dougie Blackwood (2) all contributed to the scoring column.

Chicago hit 44.1% of their shots compared to Kalamazoo's 42.0%, but the Hornets held a slight advantage from three at 46.4%. The Maroons finished with more rebounds (47-25) and assists (14-12), and the Hornets recorded more steals (9-3). In addition, the Hornets held advantages in points off turnovers (19-13), bench points (25-15), and fastbreak points (9-3).

Kalamazoo will return to action by hosting nationally-ranked Elmhurst on Wednesday (Dec. 7), with tip-off scheduled for 8 p.m.