The Alma College men's basketball team hit the road on Friday night for the first game of the Carthage (WI) College Tournament and took on the host Red Men. Alma fell behind early but fought gamely throughout, only to succumb by a score of 84-78 in Kenosha, Wis.

With the loss, Alma is now 0-4 on the young season and will play Benedictine University (IL) on Saturday afternoon in game two of the tournament. Tonight marked the Red Men's first game of the season and they made it count.

"Their athleticism really hurt us and it was hard for us to contain their dribble penetration, which led to the free throw margin," said Alma Head Coach Sam Hargraves. "Their skill also really hurt us with their defensive pressure as they turned us over way too many times for us to win. We really battled hard in the second half against a great program on their home floor. We need to come out with the same intensity for 40 minutes, which we have not done yet this season."

Alma never had a lead in the first half as they fell behind by a 9-0 margin in the opening minutes.  Alma pulled to within a point, 14-13, at the 10:55 mark when Sr. F Jake Murawske (Harbor Beach/Harbor Beach) put in a lay-up. But Carthage went back up by 11 (28-17) with 5:17 remaining in the half.

The Scots closed to within three, 33-30, with 54 seconds left in the first frame on a lay-up by So. DJ Beckman (Shelby/Shelby), but Carthage led by six at the intermission, 36-30.

Alma came out determined in the second half and tied the game, 37-37, when Fr. C Ivy Johnson (Rockford/Rockford) nailed a three-pointer at the 18:08 mark. However, a 17-6 Carthage run over the next seven minutes gave the Red Men an 11-point advantage at 54-43 with 11:58 remaining in the contest. 

The lead went to 13 points on four different occasions but the Scots were a feisty and resilient bunch, pulling to within five (79-74) on a jumper by Sr. F Isiah Law (Grand Haven/Grand Haven) with 30 seconds to play. But, the Red Men were not to be denied on their home court and finished the night off, winning by six at 84-78.

In a game-altering difference, Carthage got to the free-throw line 39 times and made 29, while Alma was good on nine of just 11 attempts from the charity stripe. The Scots out-rebounded the Red Men by a margin of 45-27, but turned the ball over 18 times to just four for Carthage.

The Scots shot 52% from the field (32 of 62), including five of 19 (26%) from beyond the three-point arc. Carthage connected on 40% of their shots (25 of 63) and were good on five of 16 attempts (31%) from three-point land.

Law led Alma with a game-high 20 points on eight-of-13 field goals and nine rebounds, while Beckman had 15 points and nine boards. So. G Scott Nikodemski (Rockford/Rockford) was next for the Scots with 14 points, eight rebounds and a team-high four assists. Sr. G Brandon Krause (Sanford/Meridian) had double figures with 10 points and added three assists before fouling out after 27 minutes of play.

Tip-off on Saturday for the game versus Benedictine is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. eastern time.