Holland, Mich. - The Alma College men's basketball team fell to No. 18 Hope College by a 63-45 margin in the MIAA semifinals on Friday (Feb. 24) night at Hope's DeVos Fieldhouse. The Scots, which entered the tournament as the fourth seed, end their season with a 12-14 record.

Senior Tyler Edwards (Flint, Mich./Swartz Creek) led Alma with his sixth double-double of the season, tallying 10 points while collecting a team-high 12 rebounds. Freshmen Preston Laketa (Concord, Mich./Hanover-Horton) and Steven Harvey (Grand Rapids, Mich./Ada) each chipped in 12 points off the bench, while senior Trevor Gernaat (McBain, Mich./Northern Michigan Christian/Mid-Michigan CC) pulled in 11 boards.

Hope's Harrison Blackledge, the MVP of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association, scored a game-high 30 points.

Alma trailed, 31-24, at the half, and found itself down by 14 points early in the second half as Hope opened the second frame with an 8-0 run. The Scots put together a 10-2 run to get within eight points, but a 12-0 run by Hope in response put the Dutch up 54-34 with 9:29 to play.

The Scots were forced into 26 turnovers in the game and were held to 33.3 percent shooting for the game. Hope shot 32.3 percent from the floor and recorded 17 steals.

Alma will graduate three seniors - Edwards, Gernaat and senior Bryan Hines (Menominee, Mich./Menominee) - from the program.