ADRIAN - The Kalamazoo College men's basketball team overcame a 10-point halftime deficit to win 66-56 at Adrian College in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association play on Wednesday.
Kalamazoo fell behind early and trailed the entire first half, including the largest deficit of 10 points (33-23) going into halftime.
Kalamazoo finally evened the score at 38-38 with 12:07 left in the second half. The Hornets took their first lead of the game a minute later. The teams traded leads and were tied again at 42-42 before Kalamazoo took the lead for good with 10:08 remaining.
The Hornets held a slim three point lead (57-54) with 5:09 left, but gradually extended the lead with the help of free throws over the final five minutes.
"We did a much better job of taking care of the ball in the second half," said Kalamazoo Head Coach Eric Dougal. "We did a better job on the boards and also got out on their shooters."
Kalamazoo shot 52.4 percent overall while making 6-of-8 3-pointers. The Hornets made 16-of-25 free throws. Adrian shot 35.3 percent overall with just 9-of-24 3-pointers and 11-of-14 free throws. Kalamazoo held a 32-28 advantage in rebounds.
Mark Ghafari and Adam Peters each scored 19 points to lead the Hornets. Ghafari made 5-of-10 from the field and 7-of-10 at the free throw line. Peters sank 8-of-12 from the field and made all three of his free throws.
Chase Baysdell recorded his third double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
"Peters hit some big shots in the second half and Baysdell did an excellent job rebounding," Dougal said.
Josh Whitney added eight points in 23 minutes off the bench while Carl Ghafari had four assists.
Kalamazoo returns to action at Hope College on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 3 p.m.