KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Kalamazoo College men's basketball team gave the Hope Flying Dutchmen all they could handle Monday night at Anderson Athletic Center, but the visitors took an 85-79 victory back to Holland.
The Dutch jumped out to a 16-4 lead before five minutes of game time had expired and still had a double-digit lead, 23-13, with 11:07 remaining in the half. The Hornets steadied themselves, however, and when Josh Decker swished his third three-pointer in a span of just over three minutes, Kalamazoo found itself down just three, 34-31, with 4:22 left.
Hope held a 39-33 lead with 38 seconds remaining, but Addison Atwater's layup brought K to within four, and a Dutch turnover set up an old-fashioned three-point play for Ty Horky, whose layup and ensuing free throw cut the Hope lead to 39-38 as the clock expired.
The game stayed close as the second half began, but a pair Hope free throws gave the Dutch a 56-44 lead with 12:42 left in the game. Kalamazoo found itself able to rally again, as Decker dialed long-distance and brought Kalamazoo to within 65-62 at the 7:06 mark. His free throw 34 seconds later inched the Hornets to within two points, but that's as close as the home squad would get the rest of the evening.
Kalamazoo would keep plugging away, staying within striking distance until a Hope bucket gave the visitors an 81-71 lead with 1:27 remaining. Atwater's three-pointer at the buzzer provided the final margin.
Decker led the Hornets (5-17, 2-9 MIAA) with 24 efficient points. He made eight of his 12 shots from the floor, including 5-7 from distance and 3-4 from the free-throw line, on his way to a career-high 24 points. The freshman added six rebounds and a pair of assists.
Horky and Atwater each tallied 11 points for the Hornets, with Horky dishing a team-high five assists. Lukas Broadsword paced K with nine rebounds, and DJ Courtney and Gabriel Sharp each scored nine.
The statistics were remarkably close, with Hope shooting 54% overall (31-57) and 40% from deep (12-30), while K shot 48% overall (27-56) and 41% from beyond the arc (11-27). The two squads were equal in rebounds (31 apiece) and steals (five each), while the visitors had slight advantages in assists (18-17) and turnovers (10-12).
It's a busy week for the Hornets, as they will next play the first of back-to-back games on Wednesday night. They will host Trine for a 7:30 tip-off, and one day later Alma will come to town for another 7:30 start.