KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Kalamazoo College men's basketball team overcame a slow start offensively to defeat Case Western Reserve University 77-62 inside the Anderson Athletic Center Saturday afternoon.
Kalamazoo fell behind early and trailed by seven (13-6) midway through the first half. The Hornets were down 22-16 with 5:10 left in the first half before tying the score (22-22) for the first time with 3:51 remaining. The team exchanged leads over the next two minutes before Kalamazoo took the lead (29-28) for good at the 1:50 mark while using a 9-0 run to take a 36-28 lead into halftime.
The visiting Spartans made it a four-point game (40-36) early in the second half before a 15-0 run gave the Hornets a 59-38 lead with 9:56 left in the second half. Kalamazoo led by as many as 25 points (67-42) with 6:55 remaining and kept the lead in double digits the rest of the way.
After a slow start shooting Kalamazoo finished the game at 43.3 percent while shooting 53.8 percent in the second half. Case Western shot 32.4 percent. Kalamazoo sank 18-of-24 free throws compared to 12-of-23 by Case Western. The Spartans held a 47-42 advantage in rebounds, including 19-9 on the offensive end.
Thomas Cook scored 10 of his game-high 12 points in the first half on 4-of-5 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers.
Jeremiah Vincent finished with 11 points and five rebounds. Ben Reiter scored 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
Bass Ollie scored nine points with eight rebounds while sinking 5-of-5 free throws.
The Hornets have won three straight games and host John Carroll University next Saturday, Nov. 30 at 1 p.m.