The Alma College Men's Basketball team took on Kalamazoo College on Wednesday night at Art Smith Arena. The Scots used a hot shooting first half to take a 44-27 lead over the Hornets and ultimately cruised to the 83-68 league victory.

The win gave Alma a 3-4 MIAA record and they are now 5-13 overall, while Kalamazoo fell to 2-5 in the league and 7-11 in 2014-15.

"This was a very important win for our team," said Alma Head Coach Sam Hargraves succinctly. "I couldn't be happier with our poise tonight. We can gain some momentum from a win like this one."

The Scots came out of the gate fast and relaxed in this one, scoring the first seven points in the first 3:23, the last basket being a three-pointer by So. G Chase Fairchild (Rockford/Rockford). The Scots led 11-2 at the 13:47 mark and pushed their advantage to 15, at 25-10, when Jr. F Ethan Woelke (Keego Harbor/Orchard Lake St. Mary's) drained a three with 8:52 left in the half.

The Hornets would cut their defict to 27-19 at 6:09, but a 7-0 Alma run, capped by two Fairchild free throws, put the home team back up by 15. From that point, the two teams would trade points for the most part and the Scots went into the break up by 17, 44-27.

Alma came out in the second half and was as impressive, eventually building a 24 point lead when Jr. F Corey Hungerford (Perrinton/Fulton) put in a lay-up for a 62-38 lead with 10:36 left in the game. The Scots still led by 20 points four minutes later, but the Hornets would show some spunk before this one was in the win column.

Kalamazoo outscored Alma 15-6 and closed the gap to 11, at 75-64, with just 2:22 remaining in the contest. However, the Scots were a confident and poised bunch on this evening and scored the next four points to again open up the lead. They would then coast into the final seconds and walked off the home court with the 83-68 victory.

Jr. G Scott Nikodemski (Rockford/Rockford) led all Alma scorers with 24 points, while Jr. F DJ Beckman (Shelby/Shelby) was next with 22, which included knocking down four three-pointers. The other Scots player in double figures on the night was Fr. F Doug Bradfield (Mason/Mason), who finished with 10. Beckman had a team-high seven rebounds and added four assists, while Nikodemski finished with a club-best six helpers.

Alma's next game is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, when they host Calvin College at Art Smith Arena.