The season-ending contest on Saturday afternoon at Art Smith Arena saw the Alma College men's basketball team defeat MIAA foe Kalamazoo College by a margin of 85-80. The Scots had four players score in double figures as they held off the Hornets for the win.

It was also Senior Day 2014 as four Scots players finished their careers at the school - Sr. F Kyle Aho (Gwinn/Gwinn), Sr. G Brandon Krause (Sanford/Meridian), Sr. F Isiah Law (Grand Ledge/Grand Ledge) and Sr. F Jake Murawske (Harbor Beach/Harbor Beach).

"Today was a great way for our seniors to go out as all four of them played well," said Alma Head Coach Sam Hargraves. "It was nice for them to close out with a win. I thought we really defended well, but obviously Ghafari had great day and that happens sometimes.

"Overall I was happy with our all around defense and how we rebounded the ball. Also, we had another great shooting night and winning three in a row builds real good momentum heading into next season."

The win enabled the Scots to finish the season with a three-game winning streak and an overall record of 7-18 and 6-8 in the MIAA. Kalamazoo finished out the campaign with a mark of 10-15 in 2013-14 and 5-9 in the league.

The game was competitive and close throughout the 40 minutes as both teams tried to close out the season on a high note. The Scots scored the first bucket of the game on a Aho jump shot at the 19:23 mark, while Kalamazoo would eventually lead 14-11 with 15:19 remaining in the half.

The Hornets still led 22-20 before a three-pointer by Murawske gave the Scots a 23-22 lead at the 10:47 mark. Alma would then out score the Kzoo by a 17-7 mark over the next 8:32 to lead 40-29 with just over two minutes left in the half. The Hornets came back to score six of the final eight points of the half as Alma went into the break with a 42-35 advantage.

Kalamazoo came out of the gates strong in the second half by scoring the first seven points of the frame and knotting the game up at 42-42 with 17:24 remaining. Alma righted the ship and was able to take a 55-50 lead on a lay-up by Law at the 14:06 mark.

The game would remain tight however, as the two teams were deadlocked at 67-67 with 7:53 on the clock and 73-73 with 3:27 left. Alma built a four-point advantage at 77-73 after two made free throws by Krause with 1:50 remaining. The Scots' shooting from the free throw line was the difference down the stretch as they did not allow Kzoo to get any real hope of the comeback.

Alma ended up going 13 for 13 from the line in the second half, including eight for eight in the final 36 seconds of the contest. Krause hit on six of those, while So. G Malcolm Thurmond (Middlebury/Northridge) drained the other two.

Ghafari attempted to keep Kalamazoo in the game (he finished with 46 points), but even he could not make up the difference as the Scots held on for the impressive 85-80 season-concluding victory.

Krause led the team with 22 points in his final game as a Scot, while So. F DJ Beckman (Shelby/Shelby) was next with 19 on the day. Murawske added 14 points, while Law had 10 and Aho nine in the win. Fr. G Chase Fairchild (Rockford/Rockford) picked up a team-high eight rebounds while Krause added six.

On the afternoon, the Scots shot 51% (28 of 55) including 11 of 24 (46%) from beyond the three-point line. The Hornets finished the day at 39% (26 of 66) and hit on eight of 20 from behind the arc.