JOLIET, Ill. - The Kalamazoo College men's basketball team lost 80-69 in non-conference play at St. Francis on Monday.
Kalamazoo trailed by as many as seven points in the first half (23-16 - 10:30) before a 15-2 run gave the Hornets a six point lead (31-25) with 6:53 remaining. The host Saints came back to take a 38-35 lead into halftime.
Kalamazoo evened the score at 38-38 at the start of the second half, but a St. Francis run gave the Saints a 55-45 lead at the 12:24 mark.
Kalamazoo responded with a 16-3 run to take a three point lead (61-58) with 7:52 remaining, but the Saints responded with their own 13-2 run to lead 71-63 at 5:01. The Hornets remained within striking distance down five (72-67) with 3:32 remaining, but were unable to get any closer during the final minutes.
Kalamazoo shot a season-best 54.2 percent overall while St. Francis shot 50.9 percent. The difference came at the free throw line as the Saints made 17-of-25 and the Hornets sank 8-of-12. Kalamazoo held a 28-27 edge in rebounds.
Adam Dykema led Kalamazoo with 17 points. Josh Miller added 10 points with five rebounds.
Mike Ruwoldt scored nine points while Ben Reiter and Jimmy Paprocki each scored eight. Reiter led the team with six rebounds.
Kalamazoo returns to action at Wisconsin-Whitewater on Saturday, Dec. 10.