On Saturday afternoon, the Alma College Men's Basketball team hosted Albion College in the first home MIAA contest of the season. A tight defense contributed to and closed out a 64-60 Alma victory, as the Scots held off a furious Britons rally to secure the win.

With the victory, the Scots are now 1-1 in the MIAA and 3-10 overall, while Albion fell to 1-1 in the league and 8-4 in 2014-15.

"I feel more relieved than anything after a game like that," said Scots Head Coach Sam Hargraves. "It would have been devastating to lose considering the lead we built. To make plays on both ends of the floor to pull it out was huge mentally for us going forward. Nikodemski played like an experienced player down the stretch today."

The Scots came out of the gate quickly using a stout 2-3 defense and some inside shots to take an early 8-0 advantage after a lay-up by Jr. G Scott Nikodemski (Rockford/Rockford) at the 17:40 mark. The lead would still be eight, at 14-6, when Nikodemski nailed a jumper with 13:03 remaining in the first half.

However, the Britons finally settled in and made a few shots, while holding back Alma's offense. A 15-7 run tied the game at 21-21 at the 6:31 mark of the half. But, a long three-pointer by Fr. F Doug Bradfield (Mason/Mason) stemmed the tide and gave the Scots the 24-21 lead on the next possession.

After the game was 24-23 shortly thereafter, the Scots finished the first half on a 10-4 run, culminated by two Nikodemski free throws, and led by seven at the halftime break, 34-27.

Again, the Scots came out strong at the start of a half, as they outscored Albion 9-1 in the first 4:53 of the final frame, extending the advantage to 43-28 after a lay-up by So. C Quinton Cook (Ortonville/Ortonville-Brandon).

The teams played pretty even for a good stretch from there and the home team held a 54-38 lead after two Jr. F Corey Hungerford (Perrinton/Fulton) free throws at the 7:59 mark. From this point, the game would start to get real interesting.

The Britons suddenly found their shooting stroke, especially from beyond the arc, and Alma's lead shrunk accordingly. A 20-4 Britons run finally ended with the score at 58-58 with just 2:35 remaining in the game, the final points coming from the fourth three-pointer in seven minutes.

But, this time the Scots would be the ones that would take control down the stretch. A lay-up by Nikodemski, a defensive stop and a free throw by So. F Tyler Edwards (Swartz Creek/Swartz Creek) gave Alma a 61-58 advantage with 49 ticks of the clock left in the game.

Albion made it 61-60 with 35 seconds left, but three free throws by the Scots - one by Nikodemski and two by So. G Chase Fairchild (Rockford/Rockford) would give the home team the final four-point margin of victory, 64-60.

The leading scorer, and only person in double figures, for the Scots was Nikodemski with 21 points and he also had team-highs in steals (four) and assists (five). Edwards paced Alma on the boards with six rebounds and also contributed seven points in the win.

Bradfield finished with seven points but made his mark on the defensive side, with seven blocked shots, the final two in dramatic fashion as the Scots were trying to close out the win.

The Scots will continue league play on Wednesday, January 14, when they host Olivet College at Art Smith Arena. Start time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.