CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Earlham College men's basketball team ended its 2015-16 season with a 67-46 loss at Mount St. Joseph in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) action on Saturday.
The Lions, who clinched the No. 2 seed for the HCAC Tournament with the win, opened the contest on a 26-8 run in the first 11 minutes. Trailing by as many as 18 points (31-13) in the first half, Earlham ended the half on a 14-4 run in the final six minutes including scoring the half's final seven points. A layup from sophomore Nick Sands let the Quakers head to the locker room trailing just 35-27.
Mount St. Joseph locked down defensively in the second half, however, holding Earlham to 19 points overall and 10 in the first 14 minutes.
Junior Kyle Smith and Sands led the way for Earlham with 13 and 11 points respectively. FreshmanChainey Zolman grabbed seven rebounds, but failed to score in the game.
Femi Thompson led all scorers with 23 points for the Lions. Andrew Finley and Erik Edwards added 14 and 13 points respectively.
Mount St. Joseph shot 43.8 percent (28-64) while Earlham went 16-43 for 37. 2 percent from the floor. The Quakers did visit the free throw line 19 times while converting 11 free throws, compared to 4-6 for the Lions. MSJ grabbed 35 rebounds compared to 33 for Earlham.
The Quakers finish their 2015-16 season 2-23 overall and 1-17 in HCAC play.