Adrian, Mich. - The Alma College men's basketball team survived a tough road test on Wednesday (Feb. 3) night, defeating the Adrian College Bulldogs, 68-63, at Adrian's Merillat Sport & Fitness Center. The Scots, ranked 12th in NCAA Division III, improved their record to 16-4 overall and 9-0 in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association.
Sophomore Doug Bradfield (Mason, Mich./Mason) led the Scots with 15 points, including 3-for-3 shooting from behind the arc. Bradfield also added four blocks while playing a season-high 31 minutes. Seniors DJ Beckman (Shelby, Mich./Shelby) and Scott Nikodemski (Rockford, Mich./Rockford) also scored in double-figures, netting 14 and 12, respectively.
The Scots built a 10-point advantage in the first half with just over five minutes to play before the Bulldogs, behind 12 points from Christian Covile, made a furious comeback, recording a 16-2 run to end the frame and put the Scots in a four-point hole heading into the break. Covile finished the game with 27 points to lead all scorers.
In the second half, Alma used a 10-2 run to regain the lead and take a 49-45 advantage with 12:38 to play. The Bulldogs would tie the score at 53-53 with 6:13 to go, but back-to-back baskets by sophomore Kevin Gamble (Mt. Pleasant, Mich./Sacred Heart Academy) but Alma up by four points and gave Alma the lead for good. Adrian got within one point at 59-58 with 2:24 to go, but the Scots held on, with Nikodemski converting a three-point play and Alma going 5-5 from the line in the final two minutes to seal the victory.
The Scots, which entered the game as the top-shooting team in NCAA Division III, were held to 48.1 percent from the field, but made 59.1 percent (13-of-22) of their shots in the second half. Alma was out-rebounded, 38-30, and held Adrian to .413 shooting for the game. Gamble collected a team-high eight rebounds while Covile led all players with 10 boards to complete the double-double.
The Scots, winners in their last 11 games, remain on the road on Saturday, Feb. 6, traveling to seventh-ranked Hope College for a 7:30 p.m. meeting with the Flying Dutchmen at DeVos Fieldhouse. The Scots will be looking for their first win in Holland since the 1993-94 campaign and have dropped the last 31 contests on the Hope College campus.
NOTES
• The Scots extended their winning streak to 11 games and have won 15 of their last 16 outings.
• Alma's 9-0 start to MIAA play is the best record in league play since winning the 1941-42 MIAA title with a 10-0 mark.
• The Scots have won the last 14 MIAA regular-season games and have not dropped a game to a league opponent in the regular-season in a calendar year. The Scots last loss in MIAA play was February 4, 2015, at Albion.
• Alma's .481 shooting from the field snapped a seven-game string of .500 or better shooting by the Scots. Alma is 3-3 when shooting under .500 this season.
• The Scots' 68 points snapped a 13-game stretch of scoring 70 or more points.
• Alma is 4-2 this year when trailing at the half. The Scots have trailed after 20 minutes in three of their last four games, winning each one.
• Doug Bradfield has scored 10 or more points in three of his last four outings.
• Chase Fairchild moved into fifth place on Alma College's career three-point shooting chart with his 138th career three.
• DJ Beckman has scored in double-figures in five of his last six appearances.
• Beckman became the 10th player in Alma College history to attempt 1,000 career field goals.
• Scott Nikodemski is now 21 points away from scoring 1,000 in his career. Nikodemski scored 12 points and has 989 points.
• Nikodemski moved into seventh place on the single-season assists chart, surpassing Mike Bjorne's 102 helpers in 1992-93. Nikodemski has 107 helpers this year.
• Chase Fairchild saw a season-high 33 minutes of action.
QUOTES
Head Coach Sam Hargraves
"We had a really bad stretch in the first half where we just let them take control of the game. (Christian) Covile just took over, and we let our missed shots effect our defense. That hasn't happened to us for a while in a game. We responded nicely in the second half, mainly with defensive energy and rebounding. It's nice to win when Scotty (Nikodemski) didn't have a great night handling the ball and passing, and we didn't shoot the three well at all. It was a gutty win."