The Hope College men's basketball team was one of many winners on the court Wednesday night at DeVos Fieldhouse.

The Flying Dutchmen defeated Kalamazoo College, 73-55, in an MIAA contest that raised funds for the Van Andel Institute in Grand Rapids.

Hope players donned purple jerseys for the contest, symbolic of Van Andel Institute's Purple Community that raises funds for and awareness of the institute's research work in fighting cancer and neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease. Each jersey featured the name of a player's family member or friend who has been impacted by cancer and diseases.

"I think it's the greatest compliment to what really truly matters," head coach Greg Mitchell said after the game. "We're playing a game. We're blessed to play a game, but it is a game. The names on the back of the jerseys just represent a life and a family and reality. When we get a chance to play and represent what's really important, it's so humbling."

Proceeds from the Purple Community event, which also included the Hope women's basketball team's 109-42 win over Kalamazoo, will go toward providing internships for Hope students at Van Andel Institute.

"[Freshman forward] Parkey Hovey is wearing my son's best friend's name on his back, who died at 18 from cancer. He was a basketball player, I coached him," Mitchell said. "Personally, that means so much to see him out on the floor, in spirit. All of these guys can say the same thing about the person that they're playing for. It's heavy, it's great, and it gives these guys a chance to celebrate."

While Hope led nearly the entire game, the Hornets hung around into the early stages of the second half, whittling an 11-point lead down to four at 39-35.

"We weren't playing the game the way it was supposed to be played," Mitchell said. "We were over dribbling, we weren't cutting, we're not getting good looks (at the basket), we're not feeding it inside, so we didn't put pressure on them ... I think we were disrespecting the game of basketball."

But, the Flying Dutchmen caught fire from the perimeter. Hope nailed four 3-point baskets - back-to-back triples by junior forward Ben Wagar (Harbor Springs, Michigan/Petoskey) and one each by sophomore guard Marcus Wourman (Lansing, Michigan/East Lansing) and sophomore guard Justice Mims (Rochester Hills, Michigan/Rochester Adams) - during a 19-3 run over a five-minute span.

Hope surged ahead 58-38 lead with 8:41 remaining.

The Hornets (6-8, 0-3 MIAA) pulled no closer than 13 points the rest of the way.

"It's amazing when you play the game the right way, things happen," Mitchell said. "We made some shots, we played harder. We challenged them to defend more, we got a couple of turnovers which I think helped. It's not a hard game. Sometimes we make it hard by not making the cerebral decision. But I was proud of their response."

Hope shot 41 percent from the field (27 of 65), but limited the Hornets to 32 percent shooting (19 of 59). The Flying DUtch Dutchmen outrebounded Kalamazoo 49-39, including 16 offensive rebounds that led to 15 second-chance points. 

Hope also scored 19 points off Hornet turnovers compared to five for Kalamazoo.

Mims came off the bench to lead Hope in scoring with 18 points in 21 minutes of play, 14 of them in the first half as Hope took a 34-27 halftime lead. 

Wagar hit four 3-pointers as he added 14 points, also off the bench. Wourman played a solid all-around game with 10 points, six rebounds and five assists. 

Junior center Gabe Quillan (Ada, Michigan/Grand Rapids Catholic Central), wearing a jersey honoring the late Hope basketball student-athlete Chris VanderSlice, grabbed 12 rebounds despite being limited to 18 minutes of action by foul trouble.

Hope, now 3-0 in the MIAA and 11-3 overall, is scheduled to travel to Adrian College for its next game on Saturday, Jan. 13. Tip-off from Merillat Center is 3 p.m. Eastern.