GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Kalamazoo College men's basketball team continued MIAA play with a road game at #4 Calvin on Saturday (Jan. 6). The Hornets held the lead for the first 10 minutes of the game, but then the Knights took the lead permanently for a 79-67 win.
After hitting back-to-back three-pointers to begin the game, Kalamazoo either held the lead or was tied with Calvin for the first 10 minutes of the contest. After the Knights took a 19-17 lead at the 10:24 mark, Calvin outscored the Hornets 22-13 for the remainder of the first half to take a 39-30 lead into the locker room. The Knights scored the first seven points of the second half as the deficit was pushed out to 17 with 16:35 on the clock. Kalamazoo got back within eight points after a four-point play, but then Calvin regained a 15-point advantage with 6:43 left to play. The Hornets made one more push by getting the deficit back down to eight with 2:43 remaining. However, the Knights closed out the game for a 12-point win.
Kalamazoo shot 34.0% overall compared to Calvin's 48.2%. The Hornets made 8 of 25 (32.0%) 3-pointers compared to 6 of 26 (23.1%) by the Knights. Kalamazoo went 23 of 36 (63.9%) from the free throw line compared to 19 of 30 (63.3%) by Calvin. The Hornets had 30 rebounds compared to the Knights' 48, while Kalamazoo had 11 assists on 18 made field goals.
Carter Bandemer nearly had a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds after going 3 of 7 from the 3-point line and 5 of 5 from the free throw line. Alex Rueff scored a career-high 13 points off the bench with three 3-pointers and four free throws. Bobby Samples had a team-high five assists and two steals.
Caleb Caul (9), Connor Kouki (9), JJ Stevens (7), Lukas Broadsword (6), Gabriel Sharp (4), Samples (3), and Lucas Hanifan (2) rounded out the scoring for the Hornets.
Kalamazoo will continue conference play with a road game at Hope on Wednesday (Jan. 10), beginning at 8 p.m.