KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Kalamazoo College men's basketball team finished the regular season, and MIAA play, with a home game against Adrian on Saturday (Feb. 17). After the Hornets led for most of the game, a 27-9 run by the Bulldogs got them back into the game and a basket with 21 seconds remaining gave AC the 66-65 win. Before the game, K honored its seniors Sam Coleman, Ty Horky, Alex Rueff, Bobby Samples, Gabriel Sharp, and student assistant Gabriel Coleman on Senior Day.
Both teams traded baskets in the first six possessions of the ball game and were tied at eight at 17:37. Kalamazoo created some distance by holding between a two and six-point lead over the next 15 minutes. Closing in on halftime, the Hornets hit a three to give them a 36-27 lead heading into the locker room.
That momentum continued into the second half as Kalamazoo went on an 11-2 to increase the lead to 18 at the 16:44 mark. After a timeout by Adrian, the Bulldogs got a couple of shots to fall and became the aggressors with a 27-9 run, giving them a 57-56 lead with 8:44 remaining. The two teams went back and forth to the end by being tied at 59 with 8:21 remaining and 62 with 4:09 on the clock. Adrian made a layup at 3:17 to take a 64-62 lead, and Kalamazoo responded with a three at the 1:50 mark for a 65-64 advantage. After a long, empty possession by the Hornets, the Bulldogs came down and made a bucket with 21 seconds left for the eventual game-winner.
Kalamazoo shot 41.5% overall compared to Adrian's 54.9%. The Hornets made 10 of 25 (38.5%) 3-pointers compared to the Bulldogs' 8 of 21 (38.1%). Kalamazoo went 11 of 16 (68.8%) from the free-throw line compared to Adrian's 2 of 4 (50.0%). The Hornets had 30 rebounds compared to the Bulldogs' 28, while Kalamazoo had 12 assists on 22 made field goals.
On Senior Day, Gabriel Sharp ended his Hornet career with a 26-point performance on 8 of 16 shooting from the field, including three three-pointers, and 7 of 8 from the free throw line. Ty Horky ended with 10 points and five assists in his last game wearing a Kalamazoo jersey. Lukas Broadsword grabbed eight rebounds, and Carter Bandemer collected three steals to lead the team.
Broadsword (6), Bobby Samples (6), Bandemer (5), Patrick Perez (5), Lucas Hanifan (4), and Sam Coleman (3) rounded out the Hornets' scoring.
Kalamazoo doubled its win total from last season with a 10-16 (4-10 MIAA) record. The last time the Hornets had double-digit wins was the 2013-14 season. The team averaged 72.0 points per game on 40.9% shooting and had 37.4 rebounds and 12.8 assists per game. Ty Horky (14.4), Carter Bandemer (12.4), Gabriel Sharp (11.2), and Lukas Broadsword (10.6) all averaged double-digit points per game. Broadsword led the team in rebounding (7.7 per game) and assists (2.7 per game).