Scots Men's Hoops drops 87-71 decision to visiting Finlandia University
The Alma Men's Basketball team returned home on Friday evening after six consecutive games away from campus. However, Finlandia University spoiled the reunion, as the Lions defeated the host Scots by a margin of 87-71. Alma fell to 2-6 on the season, while Finlandia improved to 4-6.
"Give credit to Finlandia, who is a very athletic team," said Scots Head Coach Terry Smith. "We were close throughout, but we could not keep up with them during that last spurt. We need to keep learning from these experiences and get ready to play tomorrow."
The Lions took a 2-0 lead one minute into the game and despite Alma keeping it close for most of the contest, the visitors never trailed on this evening. Finlandia extended their lead to 14-7 with 14:19 left in the first half, but the Scots got back within two at 23-21 on a three-pointer by So. G Cory Schneider (Carson City, MI/CC-Crystal) at the 8:38 mark.
Finlandia kept the up the pressure and took an 11-point advantage at the 4:00 mark before Alma cut the halftime deficit to four, as Fr. G Greg Silverthorn (Shepherd, MI/Shepherd) connected on a shot beyond the arc with 22 seconds left in the first frame. Both teams shot 41% in the first 20 minutes and the Scots had the advantage on the boards by a margin of 24-19.
The second half saw the Lions shoot 71% (20 of 28), while Alma was just 39%, including 0 for 11 from beyond the three-point line. Notwithstanding, the Scots trailed by just two points, at 49-47, with 14:46 left in the game and was behind by four, 57-53, three minutes later.
Finlandia kept the Scots at bay the rest of the way, but it was still a two possession game with 2:45 remaining, when Jr. G Jordan Redditt (Detroit, MI/U of D Jesuit) hit a lay-up to cut the lead to 75-69. However, it went downhill from that point for the home team, as their visitors from the U.P. finished the game on a 12-2 run to record the 16-point victory.
So. F Tommy Erickson (Escanaba, MI/Escanaba) and So. F Terry Brown (Chicago, IL/De LaSalle) led the Scots with 14 points, while Redditt added 13 on the night. Brown and Redditt each had a team-high seven rebounds, while Erickson had six. Redditt also led Alma with three steals.
The Scots will next play tomorrow, when they host NAIA Marygrove College in a Saturday matinee. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. at Cappaert Gymnasium, with a J.V. game preceding it.
Posted: Fri, December 18th, 2009 at 7:55PM
