KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Kalamazoo College men's basketball team welcomed #14 Case Western Reserve to the Anderson Athletic Center on Saturday afternoon (Dec. 10). After trailing by only nine at halftime, the Hornets could not keep pace with the Spartans as the visiting team won 93-58.
Playing its second team in a week receiving recognition in the national poll, the two teams scored quickly and often in the first half. Two early threes by Ty Horky and two layups for Lukas Broadsword gave Kalamazoo the early 10-6 advantage. That lead lasted until the 12:46 mark when Case Western tied the game up at 16 points. The Spartans scored 17 of the following 22 points to grab a 12-point lead with 6:38 remaining. Another Broadsword layup and Horky three cut the deficit to seven, but it grew again to as much as 15 before the break. Bobby Samples, DJ Courtney, and Caleb Caul all had a hand in cutting the lead back down to single digits heading into the locker room.
Unfortunately, the Spartans clamped down defensively in the second half and outscored the Hornets 48-24 in the final 20 minutes. Looking for answers, Kalamazoo had 17 players see time on the floor in the half. Case Western's 11-0 run to open the half was enough to distance itself for the remainder of the ball game.
Horky and Broadsword had 12 points apiece to lead the Hornets, with Courtney being the leading rebounder (3) and Addison Atwater being the leading assist-getter (3). Nine other Hornets scored at least a point as Josh Decker (8), Courtney (7), Caul (6), Atwater (3), Samples (3), Carter Bandemer (3), Nicholas Olmeda (2), JJ Stevens (1), and Gabriel Sharp (1) all contributed to the scoring column.
Case Western hit 50.0% of their shots compared to Kalamazoo's 32.7%, including 47.1% from three. The Spartans finished with more rebounds (45-24), assists (20-7), steals (10-7), and blocks (3-0).
Kalamazoo will return to action on Wednesday (Dec. 14) when the team travels to Denison, as tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.