ALMA, Mich. - The Kalamazoo College men's basketball team traveled to Alma in an MIAA matchup on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 28). After falling behind at the half, the Hornets made a push in the second half but came up just short as the Scots won 75-69.
Alma raced out to a 16-4 lead within the first six minutes of the ball game. A 13-4 run by Kalamazoo knocked the deficit down to five until a couple of baskets by the Scots pushed their lead out to double digits. Then, 10 straight points by the Hornets knotted the game up at 23 with 7:17 on the clock. Alma finished the half out strong and held an eight-point lead at the break.
Three straight threes by the Scots extended their lead to 17, and eventually, they held their largest lead of 21 at the 14:20 mark. However, a 9-0 run by Kalamazoo shrunk the lead down to 12, and then the Hornets scored 20 of the following 30 points to have the scoreboard read 67-63 with 2:34 remaining. Kalamazoo kept the pressure on by trimming the deficit to two with a minute on the clock and again with 24 seconds remaining. Unfortunately, after the Scots made a couple of free throws, the Hornets' next shot did not go in, which allowed Alma to hang on for the victory.
Josh Decker was the leading scorer for the Hornets with 23 points off the bench, including four triples, and four assists. Ty Horky also came off the bench four Kalamazoo, scoring 16 points with the help of four three-pointers. Lukas Broadsword finished with 11 points, nine rebounds, and four assists for the Hornets.
Rounding out the scoring for Kalamazoo was JJ Stevens (7), Addison Atwater (6), DJ Courtney (4), and Bobby Samples (2). Alma shot the ball at a 44.4% (24-54) rate compared to Kalamazoo's 38.2% (21-55). However, the Hornets did hold a slight advantage from beyond the arc, shooting 41.7% (10-24) to the Scots' 39.4% (13-33). In addition, Alma ended up with more rebounds (38-35) and assists (12-11).
Kalamazoo will continue MIAA play with a home game against Calvin on Wednesday (Feb. 1), beginning at 8 p.m.