Alma, Mich. - After playing its first four games on the road, the Alma College men's basketball team came home to Art Smith Arena for the first time this season, posting a 98-75 win over visiting North Park (Ill.).
The Scots (2-3 overall) extended their home winning streak to eight games, which dates back to last season, behind five players in double-figures.
Senior Scott Nikodemski (Rockford, Mich./Rockford) led the team with a season-high 18 points, making nine of his 11 shots from the floor. Junior Chase Fairchild (Rockford, Mich./Rockford) added 16 points, while junior Trevor Gernaat (McBain, Mich./Northern Michigan Christian) netted a season-high 15. Sophomores Doug Bradfield (Mason, Mich./Mason) and Jason Beckman (Shelby, Mich./Shelby) each scored 12.
Alma built up a 10-point lead just over five minutes into the game behind seven of Fairchild's points, but North Park climbed back to within one point with 10 minutes to play behind Jordan Robinson, who scored a game-high 37 points and pulled down nine rebounds.
Ahead 23-22, the Scots took off, outscoring the Vikings 30-15 in the final 10 minutes of the half to lead by 16 at the break. North Park would not get any closer than 15 points in the second half as Alma pulled away for the victory.
The Scots finished the game shooting .544 from the floor (37-68) while dishing out a season-high 26 assists. Alma out rebounded North Park, 38-33. Defensively, senior DJ Beckman (Shelby, Mich./Shelby) pulled down a team-high seven rebounds, while Bradfield added two blocks.
The Scots remain home and will host North Central (Ill.) on Sunday, Dec. 6, in Alma's third consecutive game against a team from the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW). Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
NOTES
• Alma is 8-0 at Art Smith Arena during the 2015 calendar year.
• The win snapped a two-game losing streak to North Park. In the previous two seasons, the Scots dropped both meetings by a combined five points.
• In both wins this season, Alma has shot better than .500 from the field.
• The Scots were a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line.
• Chase Fairchild scored in double figures for the 20th time in his career with 16 points, which tied a season high. Fairchild also added a season-high five assists.
• Scott Nikodemski moved into sixth place on the career assists list with his five helpers. He now has 230, surpassing Mike Bjorne's 227 from 1992-95.
• Nikodemski also moved into sole possession of seventh placed on the career steals list with three tonight. He now has 85 for his career.
• Jason Beckman's 12 points tied a season high.
• Scott NIkodemski's 18 points were his best of the season.
• DJ Beckman set a season high with four assists and played in 29 minutes, the most playing time he has seen in 2015-16.
• Trevor Gernaat's 15 points were a season high.
QUOTES
Head Coach Sam Hargraves
"It was great to get the win and I thought we did a lot of great things. We were more aggressive against them than we've been in the past. I still felt that it was kind of sloppy. Some of that is because of their (North Park's) pressure defensively, but I was still disappointed with the turnovers and the plays that were almost turnovers. Even though we scored 98 points, I still feel that we can be a lot more efficient offensively. We won the game tonight because of our defense and our rebounding. For the most part, we limited them to one shot and got most of the defensive rebounds. Overall, it's nice that we won, but there is a lot to work on."