DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Kalamazoo College men's basketball team played its third game this week in a road contest at Defiance on Saturday (Nov. 18). The Hornets won their fourth straight game with the help of a 16-2 run in the first half, defeating the Yellow Jackets 74-59.
The two teams traded leads in the first 12 minutes of the game, as no lead was greater than five points. After Kalamazoo got down 20-19, the team went on a 16-2 run over the next six minutes to grab a 12-point lead. The Hornets ended up leading 35-26 at the half.
Kalamazoo maintained at least a nine-point advantage for the first part of the second half. However, Defiance scored 10 straight points to cut the deficit to three with 7:38 on the clock. The Hornets answered with a 12-1 run to give them a 14-point lead with just two minutes remaining. Kalamazoo held on for the 15-point win.
Kalamazoo shot 45.6 percent overall compared to 41.4 percent by Defiance. Kalamazoo made 9 of 24 three-pointers compared to 5 of 22 by Defiance. Kalamazoo went 13 of 20 from the free throw line compared to 6 of 7 by Defiance. The Hornets also outrebounded the Yellow Jackets 41-29 and had 14 assists on 26 made field goals.
Ty Horky was the leading scorer for Kalamazoo, going 6 of 10 from the field, 5 of 7 from three, and 4 of 4 from the free throw line for 21 points. Gabriel Sharp added 12 points off the bench, with Carter Bandemer (11), Patrick Perez (11), and Lukas Broadsword (10) also scoring double figures.
Broadsword collected his fifth career double-double by grabbing 10 rebounds, as Horky, Perez, and Bobby Samples had eight boards a piece. The trio of Broadsword, Horky, and Bandemer collected three assists each, and Samples had three steals.
JJ Stevens (4), Alex Rueff (2), Connor Kouki (2), and Samples (1) rounded out the scoring for the Hornets.
Kalamazoo will be back in action at home against Manchester on Monday (Nov. 27), beginning at 7 p.m.