Alma, Mich. - The 15th-ranked Alma College men's basketball team continued it's winning ways on Saturday (Jan. 30) afternoon, completing a season sweep of Kalamazoo College with an 85-80 victory in front of a record crowd at Art Smith Arena.
With the victory, the Scots extended their winning streak to 10 games, the longest since the 1941-42 campaign, and won their 14th in a row at home. Alma has also won its last 13 MIAA regular-season games in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association and remains perfect in the MIAA with a league-best 8-0 record.
Senior Scott Nikodemski (Rockford, Mich./Rockford) led all players with 20 points, while junior Chase Fairchild (Rockford, Mich./Rockford) added 15, including 5-for-6 shooting from the three-point line. Junior Trevor Gernaat (McBain, Mich./Northern Michigan Christian/Mid-Michigan CC) tallied 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds, while sophomore Kevin Gamble (Mt. Pleasant, Mich./Sacred Heart) and junior Tyler Edwards (Flint, Mich./Swartz Creek) posted 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Kalamazoo held the advantage for most of the first half, weathering a 13-2 run by the Scots last in the opening stanza to take a 44-41 lead at the break. In the second half, the Scots built up a nine-point lead at 55-46 with 15:57 to go before the Hornets put together an 18-4 run, resulting in a 64-59 lead for Kalamazoo with 12:02 to play. The game remained tight from there until Alma was able to use a 7-0 run with four minutes remaining to pull ahead for good.
Alma shot .508 (30-of-59) from the floor for the game and made 44 percent of its three-pointers, hitting 11-of-25. The Hornets made 47 percent of its shots, including .563 shooting in the first half.
Adam Dykema paced the Hornets with 17 points, coming off the bench to hit five of his nine three-point attempts. Chase Baysdell recorded a double-double with 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Scots will take to the road for a pair of games next week, traveling to Adrian College on Wednesday, Feb. 3, followed by trip to Holland, Mich., on Saturday, Feb. 6, to take on Hope College. Alma defeated Adrian, 85-66, in the first meeting this season on January 9, and downed the then No. 4 Dutch by an 86-75 margin on January 13.
NOTES
• The Scots have 15 wins, the most in a single season since 1988-89.
• Alma has won its last 10 games and went a perfect 8-0 in January.
• The Scots have won their last 13 MIAA regular-season games.
• Alma has won 14 straight on its home floor.
• Scott Nikodemski posted his third 20-point game of the season and now has 967 career points, 33 away from becoming the 11th player in Alma history to score 1,000.
• Doug Bradfield matched a season-high with four blocks and established a new single-season blocking record. Bradfield has 47 rejections after 19 games, topping his previous record of 43 in 26 games a year ago.
• Tyler Edwards tied a career-high with 11 points, including a career-best 5-for-6 shooting from the free throw line.
• Scott Nikodemski netted a career-high three three-pointers.
• Trevor Gernaat equaled his best rebounding total of the year with nine boards.
• Chase Fairchild hit a season-high five three-pointers, making five of his six long-range shots.
• Alma is 5-0 against Kalamazoo at home under Head Coach Sam Hargraves.
QUOTES
Head Coach Sam Hargraves
"What an awesome crowd today. That is huge and helped pull us through today. Scott (Nikodemski) stepped up big and played like a guy who's only got a few games left. Defensively, whether they missed or we made them miss, we held them to a lot lower percentage in the second half, and that's what enabled us to get it done."