Coming off back-to-back conference wins, the Alma College Men's Basketball team hit the road on Saturday looking to make it three straight against the Thunder of Trine University (IN). The Scots managed to snag the lead just once on the road, eventually falling to the Thunder 69-55 inside of Hershey Hall.

Alma drops to 4-11 overall and 2-2 in the league with the loss. Conversly, Trine improves to 10-5 and 3-1 in the MIAA with the victory.

"They did a great job of attacking us off the dribble and getting to the free throw line, which is where they beat us," remarked Alma Head Coach Sam Hargraves. "We didn't get to the free throw line enough and had a cold shooting night from the perimeter and that is a bad combination for us."

Two free throws would put the home team on the board first, before a layup and two free throws by Jr. G Scott Nikodemski (Rockford/Rockford) would give the Scots the  4-2 lead at the 17:21 mark. 

The Thunder would regain the lead and stretch it to 12-8 but Nikodemski would answer again, this time with a jumper, to cut the Alma deficit to 12-10 with 12:49 remaining.

Trine opened the lead up to eight points but free throws and another Nikodemski jump shot would bring the Scots within four at 33-29 with just under four minutes left to play in the half.

Despite Alma's best efforts to cut the lead, the Thunder would end the half on an 8-0 run to head into the locker rooms up 41-29.

The beginning of the second half saw both teams exchanging jumpers and trips to the line. So. C  Quinton Cook (Ortonville/Ortonville-Brandon) would sink one of two from the charity stripe to bring Alma within 10, 47-37, with 15:04 remaining.

Both teams struggled to find consistent scoring for the next few minutes, translating to big chunks of time between scoring plays. 

Nikodemski ended the game accounting for six of the Scots final 10 points. Despite his best effort to bring Alma back, the Thunder proved too much at home, claiming the 69-55 victory.

Alma shot 23-of-50 (46.0%) from the floor and just 3-of-17 (17.6%) from beyond the arc. The Scots held the scoring advantage in the paint 36-22 and recorded 11 points off the bench compared to zero by Trine.

Nikodemski led Alma with 20 points (9-of-13) and four helpers. Jr. F DJ Beckman (Shelby/Shelby) chipped in 14 points while grabbing a game-high eight rebounds.  Fr. G Jason Beckman (Shelby/Shelby) led the Scots bench with six points and two assists in 18 minutes.

Alma will look to bounce back on Wednesday, Jan. 21, on the road at Hope College. Tipoff against the Flying Dutchmen is set for 6:00 p.m.