KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Kalamazoo College men's basketball team continued MIAA play with a home game against Alma on Saturday (Jan. 13). The Hornets jumped out to a big lead in the first half, but the Scots came back in the second half to force overtime. In the end, K did just enough to win 91-90 for its first conference win of the season.
Alma scored the game's first basket, but then Kalamazoo went on a 12-0 run to grab a double-digit lead. After the Scots dwindled the lead down to three, the Hornets scored 13 of the following 16 points to lead 28-15 with 9:39 on the clock. K maintained at least a nine-point lead for the rest of the half, with the largest lead being 17. The Hornets led 43-29 at the half.
After both teams traded baskets to open up the second half, the Scots went on a 20-5 run from 11:44 to 7:58 to take a two-point lead. The following six times Alma took a two-point lead, Kalamazoo answered to tie the game up. A layup and a free throw had Alma leading 82-79 at the 1:43 mark. Carter Bandemer made a layup with 1:19 on the clock, and Lukas Broadsword hit a free throw with 48 seconds left for the eighth tie of the second half. Both teams had an opportunity to win the game in regulation, but neither converted to force overtime.
The Hornets sprinted out to a seven-point lead in overtime after buckets by Lucas Hanifan and Bobby Samples, and three free throws by Broadsword. Three free throws by the Scots and a layup by Dougie Blackwood had the scoreboard reading 91-86 with 30 seconds left. Alma made a layup and two more free throws to cut the K lead to one with nine seconds remaining. After the Hornets turned the ball over, the defense forced two missed shots after allowing an offensive rebound to hold on for the win.
Kalamazoo shot 49.3% overall compared to Alma's 41.6%. The Hornets made 9 of 26 (34.6%) 3-pointers compared to 11 of 35 (31.4%) by the Scots. Kalamazoo went 16 of 25 (64.0%) from the free throw line compared to 15 of 23 (65.2%) by Alma. The Hornets had 47 rebounds compared to the Scots' 40, while Kalamazoo had 18 assists on 33 made field goals.
Lukas Broadsword filled the stat sheet after scoring 18 points, grabbing eight rebounds, dishing out seven assists, and collecting two steals. Bobby Samples finished with 11 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Carter Bandemer had eight points and eight rebounds, Patrick Perez had eight points and six rebounds, and Caleb Caul finished with seven points.
Lucas Hanifan did it all off the bench for the Hornets with 16 points, nine rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Dougie Blackwood scored 17 points, with four of his six field goals coming from behind the arc. JJ Stevens (4) and Alex Rueff (2) also contributed to the scoring line.
Kalamazoo will continue conference play with a home game against Olivet on Wednesday (Jan. 17), beginning at 8 p.m.