Despite holding a two-point advantage at halftime, the Alma College Men's Basketball team fell to Calvin College 78-67 on Saturday afternoon.

With the loss, the Scots drop to 3-15 on the year with a 2-5 mark in the MIAA. The host Knights improve to 15-4 overall behind a 7-1 mark in conference play.

"I'm really proud of our effort," said Alma Head Coach Sam Hargraves. "If we can continue to bring this kind of focus and energy every game there's no telling what we might be able to do."

Alma started the game down 2-0 but back-to-back layups by Sr. F Isiah Law (Grand Haven/Grand Haven) and So. F DJ Beckman (Shelby/Shelby) put the Scots up 4-2 at 17:04. Sr. G Brandon Krause (Sanford/Meridian) knocked down a jumper at 11:26 to give Alma the early 11-8 lead with just under 12 minutes to go in the half.

The Knights would hold the lead for a majority on the half until the Scots put together an 8-2 run to close out and take the 29-27 lead into the locker rooms.

The second half began in a thrilling fashion with both teams claiming then surrendering the lead. So. G Brandon Trefil (Perrinton/Fulton) sank a triple at 11:36 to put Alma up 50-48. The Knights were not shook however, and answered with a 12-0 run to claim the 60-50 lead with just under 10 minutes remaining.

Beckman drained a three then put in a layup to keep the Scots close at 66-59. Seven would be as close as Alma would get in this game as Calvin took the 78-67 victory at home.

The Scots shot 44.8% (25-of-58) from the floor and went four-of-six from beyond the arc. Alma had 20 assists compared to 19 by the Knights while Calvin held the edge in rebounds (33-29) and blocks (4-2).

Beckman led all scorers with a career-high 31 points on 12-of-18 shooting. The 31 points were the most scored by a Scot since Jordan Redditt put up 31 against Madonna College in 2009.

Law contributed 19 points and  a team-high six boards while Krause added nine assists on Saturday.

Jordan Brink led Calvin with 21 points and five assists. Tyler Kruis chipped in 18 points and Jordan Daley added 17 points in the win.

The Scots will face Albion at home on Wednesday, February 5 at 8:00 p.m. in the "Light It Up Blue for Autism" game.