KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Kalamazoo College men's basketball team continued MIAA play with a road game at Olivet on Saturday (Jan. 27). After leading by just two at halftime, the Hornets outscored the Comets by 17 in the second half to come away with a n 85-66 win.
Kalamazoo led the entire first half except for nine seconds when the score was tied at seven. Leading 10-9 at the 16:31 mark, the Hornets went on a 25-11 run to push the lead up to 15, the largest of the half. However, Olivet got back into the game by scoring 19 of the final 25 points of the half as K led 43-41 heading into the locker room.
The two teams battled to begin the first half, and the lead changed hands four times, with Kalamzoo taking a 60-59 lead at the 11:20 mark. Then, the Hornets took over by outscoring the Comets 23-7 for the rest of the game to secure a 19-point win and the season sweep.
Kalamazoo shot 36.5% overall compared to Olivet's 34.8%. The Hornets made 11 of 28 (39.3%) 3-pointers compared to the Comets' 10 of 31 (32.3%). Kalamazoo went 20 of 29 (69.0%) from the free-throw line compared to Olivet's 8 of 11 (72.7%). The Hornets had 54 rebounds compared to the Comets' 41, while Kalamazoo had 12 assists on 27 made field goals.
Gabriel Sharp led the team with a career-high 27 points, going 3 of 6 from downtown and 12 of 13 from the free-throw line. Sharp was the primary catalyst in the second half, scoring 19 points while coming off the bench. Lukas Broadsword finished with his third double-double of the season and seventh of his career after scoring 12 points, grabbing a career-high 14 rebounds, and finishing with a team-high six assists.
Carter Bandemer finished with 19 points, seven rebounds, and three steals, while Lucas Hanifan had 17 points, six rebounds, and two assists off the bench. Caleb Caul scored nine points, and JJ Stevens hit a free throw to round out the scoring for the Hornets.
Kalamazoo will continue conference play with another road game at Albion on Wednesday (Jan. 31), beginning at 7:30 p.m.