ALMA MEN'S BASKETBALL FALLS JUST SHORT IN NAILBITING THRILLER VS HOPE
The Alma Men’s Basketball hosted Hope College on Saturday and did not show the visitors any love on Valentine’s Day. The Scots took Hope to the final buzzer, but the second-place Flying Dutchmen prevailed, escaping Cappaert Gymnasium with a hard-fought 55-53 victory.
The win improved Hope to 9-3 in the MIAA (tied with Abion College) and 16-7 overall, while the Scots are now 3-9 in league action and 5-17 in 2008-09. The game was competitive from the outset. The largest lead by either team was at nine, when Hope led 46-37 with 7:06 left in the game.
Alma’s largest lead was 11-4 and 13-6 in the early going of the game. Even though the Flying Dutchmen led by eight on four occasions, the Scots fought back each time. Alma closed the gap to one point when Fr. G Cory Schneider (Carson City, MI/Carson City) hit a three-point shot to make the score 54-53 with two seconds remaining. Hope then made one of two free throws, but the Scots were unable to get a shot off before the final buzzer.
Alma jumped out to that early lead in the first half on the strength of a trio of three-pointers, two by Schneider and one by Fr. F Tommy Erickson (Escanaba, MI/Escanaba) in the first four minutes. The Scots eventually cooled off, and Hope slowly clawed back, tying the game at 13-13 at the 11:45 mark. A 12-0 Hope run was ended when Alma Sr. F Ryan DeHaan (Rockford, MI/Rockford) hit a lay-up to cut a Flying Dutchmen lead to three, at 18-15.
Hope was able to maintain a four to eight point lead the rest of the half and went into the lockerroom with a 30-22 advantage. Hope shot 48% from the field in the first half, while Alma was good on 38% of their attempts, finishing three of ten from beyond the arc.
The teams played evenly through the first nine minutes of the final frame and with Hope leading 39-31 with 12:41 remaining, the Scots reeled off the next six points and cut it to two when Sr. F Matt Brown (Midland, MI/Midland) was good on a lay-up just two minutes later. Hope proceeded to score the next seven points. The run ended with the Flying Dutchmen enjoying their largest lead, at nine points.
Again, Alma fought back. The Scots cut the lead to two points three different times, but Hope was always able to answer. Alma could just not get over the hump, leaving the Flying Dutchmen very happy to get out of Scotland, USA with the win.
Alma held Hope to just 22% (four of 18) shooting in the second half, and the Flying Dutchmen finished the game at 37% (15 of 41). The Scots shot at a 48% clip in the final frame (11 for 23) and were at 43% (20 of 47) at the end of the game. Alma finished six of 16 from three-point land, while Hope was five of 13 from beyond the arc.
The one very telling stat for the game was the fact that Hope was good on 20 of 21 free throw attempts, not missing until their very last attempt. Alma attempted just eight free throws, making seven of them. On the boards, Hope had a 30-25 advantage, including 11 to nine on the offensive glass.
So. G Jordan Redditt led all Alma scorers with 17 points and also had a team-high five assists, while Schneider added 16 points, including four of six from three-point land. DeHaan led the Scots with seven rebounds, five of those offensive, and also had six points. Brown finished with four rebounds and four points on the afternoon.
The Scots conclude the home portion of their 2008-09 regular season schedule on Wednesday, when they host MIAA rival Olivet College. Tip-off at Cappaert Gymnasium is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.
Posted: Sat, February 14th, 2009 at 4:47PM
