ALBION, Mich. - The Kalamazoo College men's basketball team traveled to Albion in an MIAA matchup on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 4). The Hornets were hot from downtown, making 15 threes in the 86-77 victory over the Britons.
In a tightly contested first half, there were seven lead changes and eight ties between Kalamazoo and Albion. The largest lead that each team held in the first 20 minutes was three points for the Hornets and six for the Britons. The eight threes helped keep K in the ball game as Albion led 37-36 heading into halftime. Josh Decker drained three shots from long range, and Alex Rueff made a three on three straight possessions towards the end of the half.
The back-and-forth play continued to open up the second half as the lead changed hands nine times in 12 minutes. The Hornets took the lead for the final time at the 8:59 mark as Albion could not overcome the long-range proficiency of Kalamazoo. DJ Courtney was critical down the stretch, scoring 11 points in the final nine minutes of the ball game. In the last minute, the Hornet defense closed out the game by creating stops and converting at the free throw line to come away with the nine-point win.
Decker was the leading scorer for the Hornets by tying a career-high with 24 points with the help of six three-pointers. Courtney ended up with 18 points and a team-high three steals defensively. Ty Horky also ended up with double-digit points at 13 to go along with seven assists. Lukas Broadsword led the team with six rebounds.
Rounding out the scoring for Kalamazoo was Rueff (9), Broadsword (8), Bobby Samples (5), Dougie Blackwood (4), Addison Atwater (3), and Nicholas Olmeda (2). The Hornets shot the ball at a 48.3% (29-60) rate compared to Albion's 44.4% (28-63). Kalamazoo also had a 44.1% (15-34) three-point percentage as the Britons made 27.3% (6-22) of their threes. In addition, Albion ended up with more rebounds (42-29) and assists (21-17), while Kalamazoo had more steals (9-7), and both teams had two blocks a piece.
Kalamazoo will continue MIAA play with another road game at Olivet on Wednesday (Feb. 8), beginning at 8 p.m.