The Alma College Men's Basketball team entered the Art Smith Arena on Wednesday evening with a lot to prove. The Scots were looking to clinch their first berth in the postseason since 2011 and record double-digit wins for the first time since the 2004-05 season.

The only thing that stood in the way of Alma achieving these things were the Bulldogs of Adrian College, a team that beat the Scots earlier in the year 66-52. In front of a hostile crowd inside the "Art", Alma would beat the Bulldogs 64-42 to clinch a playoff spot and reach the 10-win plateau.

The win, the seventh-straight at home and third overall, gives the Scots an impressive 7-1 mark at the Art Smith Arena, including a perfect 7-0 record against MIAA opponents. On the year, Alma improves to 10-14 overall and 8-5 in conference play with the victory.

"I am very proud of our defensive effort and focus," said Alma Head Coach Sam Hargraves. "With how poorly we shot in the second half, we could have let them back in the game. But the defense didn't allow it. Obviously, we're excited to be moving on to the MIAA tournament, but our work certainly isn't done. We need to be focused going into Saturday at Kalamazoo."

Wednesday's matchup had all the feel of a playoff game, with both teams exchanging blows early. The score was tied 9-9 at 16:06, before a layup by Fr. F Doug Bradfield (Mason/Mason) and a triple by Jr. F DJ Beckman (Shelby/Shelby) would give the Scots the 14-9 lead with just over 14 minutes left to play in the first half.

Despite Adrian's best efforts to keep it close, Alma proved too strong in the final minutes of the half, finishing the first 20 minutes on an 11-2 run to take the 39-26 advantage into the locker rooms.

The visitors began the second half on a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to eight, 39-31, with just under 17 minutes to play in regulation.

The Scots would quickly return to form, scoring nine-straight points to widen the gap to 48-31 with 13:38 left to go.

Despite having a comfortable lead, Alma refused to ease up, holding Adrian to just six points in the final 10 minutes to earn the 64-42 victory.

The Bulldogs 42 points are the fewest for an opponent in an Alma victory since the 1997-98 season when the Scots defeated Grace Bible College 95-34.

Coming off the bench, Fr. G Jason Beckman (Shelby/Shelby) poured in 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting in 31 minutes. Bradfield recorded a team-high seven boards and four blocks to go with his 15 points, while Jr. G Scott Nikodemski (Rockford/Rockford) dished out a team-high four assists in the win.

Alma shot 23-of-47 (48.9%) from the floor and 5-of-16 (31.3%) from beyond the arc. The Scots totaled 32 points in the paint compared to just 14 by the visitors and Alma held the commanding 24-0 advantage in points off of turnovers.

Alma ends the regular season on Saturday, February 21, hitting the road to take on Kalamazoo College at 3:00 p.m.

Seedings and dates for the 2015 MIAA Tournament are still to be decided.