The Alma College Men's Basketball team hit the road on Wednesday night as they continued their 2014-15 non-league schedule with a tilt against North Park University in suburban Chicago. The Scots dropped a 72-71 decision to the Vikings in a thrilling basketball game that was not decided until the final buzzer sounded.

The Scots are now 0-6 on the season, while North Park improved to 3-1 with the victory over a snake-bitten Alma squad.

"We simply played with the weight of the world on our shoulders tonight," remarked Alma Head Coach Sam Hargraves. "The kids knew going in that North Park won only four games last year and they treated it like a 'must win' game. It is hard to play with that mindset.

"We actually played ok overall, but it's still the same story. We haven't yet played loose and confident for a full 40 minutes. We're not talented enough to win these types of games if we don't. The good news is that we only lost by one and we believe we can play much better."

As has been the case too often in this young season, Alma fell behind early and had to work hard to fight their way back into it. North Park had leads of 6-0, 10-2 and 19-5 before the Scots started to get their legs underneath them.

Alma cut the deficit to 25-22 when So. F Tyler Edwards (Swartz Creek/Swartz Creek) hit a jumper with six minutes left in the half. Fr. G Jason Beckman (Shelby/Shelby) hit a three-pointer to make it a 31-30 Vikings lead with 56 seconds left in the frame.

Then Fr. F Doug Bradfield (Mason/Mason) gave the visitors their first lead of the game on a jumper with three seconds remaining and the Scots went into the break with a one-point advantage.

The second half was simply a fantastic 20 minutes of basketball to watch for the fans. There were five ties and intrigue all the way to the final tick of the clock.

After a back and forth first 10 minutes, the Vikings opened up a 52-45 advantage with 9:05 remaining in the contest. The Scots deadlocked it at 54-54 on a Jason Beckman three at the 6:10 mark and he followed that with a lay-up that gave the visitors a 56-55 lead with 4:34 on the clock.

Two minutes later, the Scots took a 66-63 lead when Jr. F DJ Beckman (Shelby/Shelby) drained a three-pointer. The Vikings scored the next four points but Alma regained the advantage at 69-67 as DJ Beckman hit another from beyond the arc at the 1:18 mark.

North Park took a 70-69 lead with 41 seconds left but Jr. G Scott Nikodemski (Rockford/Rockford) put in a layup 19 seconds later and the Scots had a 71-70 advantage. Then heartbreak set in for the Scots and their followers. A good defensive sequence led to a poor shot by the Vikings but they somehow got the rebound and Juwan Howard swished the put back from 11 feet out with just three seconds left in the game.

However, the drama was not quite over. An inbounds turnover by the Scots was followed by a poor pass from North Park and the visitors had one more chance. But, it was not to be for Alma as a jumper by DJ Beckman bounced off the rim at the buzzer and the Vikings had the one-point win.

The Beckman brothers, Jason and DJ, led the Scots with 35 of their 71 points with 18 and 17 respectively, while Nikodemski was next with nine. Edwards had a team-high seven rebounds and added five assists, while both Nikodemski and So. G Chase Fairchild (Rockford/Rockford) each had five helpers. As a team, Alma hit on 11 of 23 (48%) of their three-point attempts, a big reason why the visitors almost pulled out the victory.

The Scots are now off until Saturday, December 13, when they host Wheaton College at Art Smith Arena. Tip-off for that contest is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.