Alma, Mich. - For a calendar year, the Alma College men's basketball team has not lost at Art Smith Arena. The Scots extended their home winning streak to 10 games on Saturday (Jan. 9) evening, defeating visiting Adrian College, 85-66. With the win, Alma improved to 9-4 overall and 2-0 in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association, while Adrian fell to 8-5 overall and 1-1 in the MIAA.

Five Scots scored in double-figures, led by senior Scott Nikodemski (Rockford, Mich./Rockford), who netted 17. Sophomore Jason Beckman (Shelby, Mich./Shelby) came off the bench to score 16 points, including 11 in the first half, while junior Chase Fairchild (Rockford, Mich./Rockford), senior DJ Beckman (Shelby, Mich./Shelby) and junior Trevor Gernaat (McBain, Mich./Northern Michigan Christian) each tallied 13 points, with Fairchild and Beckman scoring nine apiece in the second half.

The game was a tale of two halves as the Bulldogs' Davonte Harris scored 20 of his 22 points in the opening stanza to keep the game tight. The half ended with Gernaat hitting a buzzer-beating three pointer to sent the Scots into the break up 40-37.

In the second half, Alma never relinquished the lead, eventually building a double-digit advantage on back-to-back three pointers by DJ Beckman with 10:14 remaining. The Scots never looked back from there, outscoring Adrian by a 17-12 margin in the final 10 minutes to win by 19 points.

The Scots shot 73.7 percent (14-for-19) from the field in the final 20 minutes and finished the game with a field goal percentage of .659 (29-of-44). Alma held the Bulldogs to 38 percent from the floor (27-of-71) and were out rebounded by a 33-29 margin. Fairchild and Nikodemski paced the Scots with five boards each, while Christian Covile, who scored 22 points, including 15 in the second half, led Adrian with seven rebounds.

Alma, which has won eight of its last nine games, including four straight, will host third-ranked Hope College on Wednesday, Jan. 13, in a huge matchup between contenders for the MIAA championship. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. at Art Smith Arena. Last season, the Scots and Dutch split their matches, with each winning on their own home floor.

NOTES

• Alma extended its home winning streak to 10 games. The Scots have not lost a game at home since December 13, 2014.

• Alma has won seven straight MIAA contests dating back to last season.

• Alma has a four-game winning streak for the second time this season.

• The Scots are 9-2 when scoring 70 or more points.

• Jason Beckman has scored 16 points each each of the Scots' MIAA games this season.

• Scott Nikodemski has reached double-figures in scoring in all but one game this year.

• DJ Beckman has scored 10 or more points in nine straight games.

• Trevor Gernaat is averaging 12.5 points per game in MIAA play with 25 points over his last two appearances.

QUOTES

Head Coach Sam Hargraves

" We were certainly better than our first league game, so that was great. We played with more confidence tonight - not enough to do what we'd like to do, and the second half was pretty good. We were so careful and conservative in the first half and we just played good enough to hang around and be in it. In the second half we showed what we are offensively. We are a hard team to guard, we spread the floor and we put so much time into making extra passes. We've got a bunch of good shooters, and it's nice when they go in, but I thought our defensive energy was the difference in the second half."