KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Kalamazoo College men's basketball team hosted its final home game of the season against Adrian in an MIAA matchup on Saturday evening (Feb. 11). After a solid first half by the Hornets, the Bulldogs clamped down defensively in the second half to push past Kalamazoo 76-67.
Kalamazoo held the lead for most of the first half with the help of Josh Decker scoring 16 of the 39 points. After the lead changed hands four times in the first five minutes, the Hornets settled down to hold the lead over a 10-minute span. Adrian's quick 7-0 spurt saw Kalamazoo go down by two at the 5:08 mark. However, the Hornets outscored the Bulldogs 15-5 and took a 39-31 lead heading into the locker room.
Both teams traded baskets coming out of halftime for the first five minutes of the second half. Then, as Kalamazoo held a nine-point advantage with 12:53 on the clock, Adrian went on an 11-0 run to grab a lead for the first time since the 5:08 mark in the first half. The back-and-forth affair would start again as Nicholas Olmeda made a three to regain the lead, Adrian went back up by three, and eventually, DJ Courtney would also make a three to give the Hornets a 54-53 advantage. Unfortunately, this is where the tides turned as the Bulldogs would score 17 of the following 22 points and grab hold of an 11-point lead. The Hornets got the deficit back down to six a couple of times, but it was too late, as Adrian ended up with a nine-point win.
Decker led the Hornets with 23 points, making four shots from beyond the arc. Lukas Broadsword ended up with his fourth career double-double on 13 points and 10 rebounds while also dishing out three assists. Courtney was also in double figures with 12 points and grabbed eight boards. Ty Horky had a team-high four assists, and Bobby Samples had three steals defensively.
Rounding out the scoring for Kalamazoo was Samples (6), Olmeda (5), Horky (2), JJ Stevens (2), Trey Bolling (2), and Sam Coleman (2). Adrian had a 42.4% (25-59) field goal percentage compared to Kalamazoo's 37.9% (22-58). In addition, the Hornets ended up with more assists (14-11) and blocks (5-3), the Bulldogs had more rebounds (39-36), and both teams had five steals a piece.
Kalamazoo will continue MIAA play with a road game at Trine on Wednesday (Feb. 15), beginning at 7 p.m.