Ada, Ohio - The Alma College men's basketball team suffered a season-opening loss at Ohio Northern University on Saturday (Nov. 14) night, as the Polar Bears came from behind to post a 69-67 victory at the ONU Sports Center. Senior Scott Nikodemski (Rockford, Mich./Rockford) scored a team-high 17 points, including 11 in the second half, while sophomore Doug Bradfield (Mason, Mich./Mason) grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds and added 15 points for his first career double-double.

In the first half, the Scots were down by as many as five points late in the first half before finishing the opening period with a 14-3 run in the final 5:15 to lead by five at halftime. Sophomore Jason Beckman (Shelby, Mich./Shelby) and Bradfield fueled the run, as each hit a pair of three pointers during the stretch. Bradfield had 10 of his 15 points in the first 20 minutes and accounted for nearly a third of the Scots' points in the first half, while Beckman had eight of his 10 points in the opening frame. 

In the second half, Alma led by as much as six before ONU stormed back, outscoring the Scots 31-16 in the first 12:07 of the second half to build their biggest advantage of the night at 56-48. Down by eight with 7:53 to play, Alma went on a 17-5 run to lead 65-61 with two minutes to play. Bradfield contributed five points, while Beckman, Nikodemski, and junior Trevor Gernaat (McBain, Mich./Northern Michigan Christian) each had four points during the five-minute span.

The Scots held a three-point advantage with 1:28 left after senior DJ Beckman (Shelby, Mich./Shelby) hit a jump shot, but the Polar Bears scored the game's final five points, with Devon Allen hitting a three-pointer with 39 seconds left to tie the game and then Konnor Baker netting a pair of free throw shots with two seconds left to seal the victory. Baker led all players with 21 points.

Alma finished the game shooting 45 percent, making 24 of their 53 shots, while their defense held ONU to just .353 (24-68) from the field. The Scots committed 24 turnovers in the game while only forcing 10. The Scots also out-rebounded the Polar Bears by a 49-33 margin.

Alma continues its season-opening road trip next week with three contests. On Tuesday, Nov. 17, the Scots will travel to Mount Pleasant, Mich., to face NCAA I and defending Mid-American Conference champion Central Michigan University in an exhibition game for Alma. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at CMU's McGuirk Arena. On Friday and Saturday, Nov. 20-21, the Scots will take part in the Great Lakes Challenge, hosted by Ohio Wesleyan University. Alma will face the host Battling Bishops on Friday at 7:30 p.m. before taking on the Waynesburg (Pa.) Yellow Jackets at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.

NOTES

• Doug Bradfield posted his first career double double and grabbed double-digit rebounds for the third time in his career.

• DJ Beckman scored in double figures for the 50th time in his career.

• DJ Beckman now has 980 career points and is just 20 away from becoming Alma's 11th 1,000-point scorer.

• Scott Nikodemski scored in double figures for the 30th time in his career.

• Doug Bradfield tied his career-high with 12 rebounds and three three-pointers. He also added three blocks, and is now seven away from entering Alma's top 10 list for career blocked shots.

QUOTES

Head Coach Sam Hargraves

On the game...

"That was just a gut-wrenching way to start the season. I'm very proud of our effort and fight. Ohio Northern is a talented, physical team and they are very good at home. We did some things well, rebounding being one, but it was also evident what we need to work on. We had 24 turnovers, a third of which were unforced. That's been something this group has struggled with. It's early, we will improve on it, but that was where I think if we valued the basketball more we win. We shot well enough, defended well enough, and rebounded well enough to win."

On next week's game at Central Michigan...

"We are so thankful for the opportunity CMU gives us to play in a NCAA Division I environment. It is obviously a great challenge playing a Division I team, and even more so since they are the pre-season favorites to win their conference. We will learn more about ourselves after that game, and also try some different things since it is an exhibition for us."