Saturday night brought MIAA foe Hope College to Art Smith Arena for a big match-up as both teams were looking to improve their position in the league standings. The Flying Dutchmen came away with the 92-74 victory and now have an overall mark of 11-8 and 6-2 in the MIAA, while the Scots are now 8-11 in 2012-13 and 3-5 in the league.

"We certainly played with energy tonight and that was great, but we had too many defensive breakdowns on the helpside," said Scots Head Coach Sam Hargraves. "That is something we can control and get better. Our shooting was not good in the second half but we did not get enough easy chances and those type of chances come from getting stops."

A raucous crowd of over 500 people saw a spirited first half played by two teams that showed the fire from the beginning. The Scots led 7-6 after two free throws by Sr. F Greg Silverthorn (Shepherd, Mich./Shepherd) at 16:48 and then 9-8 after a bucket by Jr. G Brandon Krause (Sanford, Mich./Meridian) 30 seconds later.

Each team had mini-runs for the next several minutes and the game was tied at 31-31 at 7:09. The Dutch then went on a 14-2 run that gave them the 45-33 advantage with 1:37 left in the half. However, the Scots fought back and scored the final eight points of the frame and went into the break down 45-41 after a three-pointer by Sr. G Chris Williamson (Fowlerville, Mich./Fowlerville).

The second half started out much the same as the first and the Scots took a 49-47 lead on two Krause free throws with 17:52 left in the game. Hope regained the lead shortly thereafter and were able to maintain the advantage even though the Scots were relentless in their pursuit and the visitors led 73-69 at the 6:12 mark.

However, the bottom fell out from under the home team from that point on as Hope took control of the game. A 13-0 run over four minutes by the Dutchmen gave the visitors a 86-69 advantage and the game was all but done. Hope would extend their lead to 20 points before the final score would settle at 92-74 as the clock sounded. 

Krause led the Scots with 18 points and had a team-high three assists, while Silverthorn added 16 points and four rebounds. Jr. F Jake Murawske (Harbor Beach, Mich./Harbor Beach) contributed a team-best six rebounds in the loss. As a team, the Scots shot just 40% from the field (23-57), including six of 23 beyond the arc (0-8 in the second half).

Alma travels to Trine University on Wednesday for a league contest against the Thunder. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.