Scots lose in last minute at Kalamazoo 56-53 on Saturday evening
The Scots Men's Basketball team hit the road on Saturday evening, in search of their first MIAA win of the season, when they traveled to Kalamazoo College. However, in a very close game which went down to the end, Alma came up on the wrong end of a 56-53 decision. The Scots are now 0-8 in league play (3-16 overall), while the Hornets improved to 4-4 in the MIAA and 5-14 in 2009-10.
"I know that it is getting difficult to keep saying that we played hard but came up just a bit short, but that is the truth," said Alma Head Coach Terry Smith. "We need to keep working in practice to figure out a way to win games like this. It can be done and I have the confidence in this group that we will see success soon."
Kalamazoo took an early 3-0 lead on a three-pointer by G Ryan Clark and wouldn't give up the lead for the remainder of the first half. The first frame saw four ties. The Hornets' biggest lead was at seven points, on two occasions.
After the home team went up 14-7 at the 14:01 mark, the Scots fought back and forced the four ties, before going into the break trailing 28-27. Sr. C Isaac Thaler (Middleville, MI/Thornapple-Kellogg) kept the visitors in the game with 10 points in a first half. The Scots shoot just 32% (9 of 28) from the field. Kzoo was good on 42% of their shots (11 of 26), including three of nine from beyond the arc.
Kzoo hit a jumper three seconds into the second half to go up by three.
They eventually gained their largest lead of the half, 42-37, on a jumper by Harold Hermanson with 11:34 left in the game. The Scots then went on a 12-4 run to take a 49-46 advantage, when So. G Cory Schneider (Carson City/CC Crystal) hit a three-pointer at the 6:30 mark.
The Hornets took a lead of 50-49 when Joe Prepolec hit a jumper at 3:38. Although Alma would tie the game on two more occasions, the home team was not to be denied on this evening. The final deadlock of the game came when Schneider hit a jumper to make the score 53-53 with 1:15 remaining.
Kzoo went up by two on a lay-up by Ryan Clark at the 48 second mark. When Tyler Stewart hit a free throw with 11 seconds remaining, the hosts led by the final margin of 56-53. The Scots had opportunities to tie the game, but came up short in the end.
Thaler led the way for Alma with 12 points and added five rebounds, while Schneider was next with 10 points. So. F Tommy Erickson (Escanaba, MI/Escanaba) had a team-high nine rebounds and also contributed seven points and three assists.
Posted: Sat, January 30th, 2010 at 9:32PM
