The Alma College Men's Basketball team had their final regular season game on Saturday afternoon when they traveled to Kalamazoo College, and after a sluggish start, the Scots pulled away and defeated the host Hornets by a score of 78-53.

Alma will now get ready for the MIAA Playoffs as they play Calvin College on Thursday evening in the semi-finals. The Scots will enter as the #4 seed and will take on the #1 seed Knights, who they split with during the regular season.

With today's win, the Scots finished the season with a 9-5 league record and 11-14 overall, while Kalamazoo ended the 2014-15 campaign with a mark of 7-18 and 2-12 in the MIAA.

"This was a big win as we've not won here since I've been here and haven't shot the ball over 40%," said Alma Head Coach Sam Hargraves. "We executed well on offense, but couldn't get hot shooting it today. But, our defense was locked in pretty well in the second half. Any win on the road at this point is huge and obviously what we're going to have to do moving forward. We are all very excited and thankful to have the opportunity to compete in our conference tourney."

The hometown Hornets had nothing to lose entering the contest and played like it at the onset. They led 11-10 at the 12:08 mark of the first half as the Scots came out missing the mark a bit offensively.

Alma was able to extend a lead to 20-14 at 9:09 when Fr. G Jason Beckman (Shelby/Shelby) nailed a three-pointer. After the game was 20-18, the Scots outscored the Hornets by a margin of 14-3 over the next 6:30, culminated by a three by So. G Chase Fairchild (Rockford/Rockford). The visitors used that run to head into the break with an 11-point advantage, 38-27.

The second half belonged to the Scots from the opening seconds, as they left no doubt as to who was going to win this game. A 9-2 run to start the frame gave Alma a 47-29 advantage after two Fairchild free throws, and the Scots would still lead by 15, at 53-38, with 9:28 remaining after a layup by Jr. F DJ Beckman (Shelby/Shelby).

From that point on, there was really no doubt as to the outcome, just the final score. Alma slowly extended their advantage the rest of the way, and their game-high lead was the final score, 78-53. 11 Alma players saw time on the court and 10 of them scored at least one point in the win, as the visitors walked off the court with the impressive tune-up for the playoffs.

Jason Beckman led all Alma scorers with 22 points and was followed closely by Fr. F Doug Bradfield (Mason/Mason), who had 17 in the victory. DJ Beckman, Jr. G Scott Nikodemski (Rockford/Rockford) and So. F Tyler Edwards (Swartz Creek/Swartz Creek) each had eight for the Scots.

The team outrebounded Kalamazoo 40-37 in the win and were led by Bradfield's seven, while Nikodemski and DJ Beckman each had six. Nikodemski added three assists and two blocks, while Fairchild had a team-high four assists.