Alma, Mich. - The Alma College men's basketball team fell to North Central College (IL) by a 73-53 margin on Friday (Dec. 15) night at Art Smith Arena in the final non-conference home game for the Scots. Alma (1-5 overall) was limited to a season-low 32 percent from the field while North Central (5-4 overall) out rebounded the Scots by a 49-32 margin.

The Scots were led by sophomore Ryan Stevens (Lowell, Mich./Lowell), who scored 15 points and dished out six assists, while junior Doug Bradfield (Mason, Mich./Mason) scored 14 points - including 11 in the second half - and hit a team-high three triples. Senior Kevin Scheibert (Sanford, Mich./Sanford-Meridian) pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.

North Central had four players in double-figures, led by Matt Cappelletti, who scored 18. Alex Sorenson led all players with 13 rebounds - including six offensive boards - while Connor Raridon recorded 12 rebounds.

How It Happened

• In the first half, Alma was held without a field goal for the first five minutes, but played close with North Central for the first nine minutes. The remainder of the half, however, were dominated by the Cardinals as the Scots were outscored by a 25-11 margin as North Central hit five threes en route to a 7-for-16 showing from behind the arc. Alma struggled from the floor in the first 20 minutes, hitting only 28 percent of its shots, and trailed by 19 points at the half, down 40-21.
• In the second half, Doug Bradfield scored Alma's first eight points as the Scots came out of the break to cut North Central's lead to 12 points, and continued to chip away at the Cardinals' lead, closing the gap to 10 points at 58-48 after a pair of three-point plays by Ryan Stevens. North Central halted the effort with a transition three-pointer by Mike Pollack and went on to outscore the Scots 15-4 in the final 6:50 of the game.

Noteables

• Rob Holmes got his first career start tonight in place of Kevin Scheibert. Prior to tonight's game, the Scots had used the same starting five in every game. 
• Jason Majerle saw his first action of the year after missing the first five games due to injury.
• North Central held the Scots to a season-low 32.2 percent from the floor, snapping a two-game streak where Alma had shot 50 percent or better from the field.

Up Next

The Scots will travel to Wheaton, Ill., for a meeting with Wheaton College on Saturday, Dec. 16. The opening tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.