KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Kalamazoo College men's basketball team dropped a 74-71 decision to the visiting Anderson College Ravens Saturday night at Anderson Athletic Center.
Anderson made its first three shots from the field to take a quick 8-0 lead, but Kalamazoo's Bobby Samples hit a layup to cut the lead to one, 14-13, with 10:24 left in the half. The Hornets (1-2) tied the score at 25 on a Nicholas Olmeda free throw with 5:19 remaining, but in what became a recurring theme on the evening, the Ravens jumped back to a slight lead and took a 30-28 lead to halftime.
Kalamazoo, which never enjoyed a lead in the game, managed to stay within hailing distance. After Anderson stretched its lead to 42-34 with 15:28 remaining in the game, the Hornets dug in to trim the lead to 52-51 on a Nicholas Olmeda jump shot with 9:20 remaining.
Anderson was able to keep the Hornets just out of reach, maintaining a lead of no more than five until Josh Decker's three-point basket produced the second tie of the game, 67-67, with 1:28 left. The Ravens promptly answered that three with one of their own to retake the lead. After Ty Horky made a layup for the Hornets, Anderson made three of four from the free-throw line to take a 74-69 advantage.
The Hornets had one more chance when Horky was fouled on a three-point attempt with :03 remaining. Horky calmly sank the first two free throws, but his intentional miss on the third was batted around before being corralled by Anderson as time expired.
Both teams shot well, with Anderson having the advantage in total field-goal percentage (52-42) and three-point percentage (47-36). They also had an advantage in rebounds (33-29) and assists (13-10), but Kalamazoo kept itself within striking distance with nine steals to Anderson's one.
Decker led the Hornets with 17 points, while Horky tallied 16. DJ Courtney had nine points and a team-high six rebounds and Samples had three steals.