HOLLAND, Mich. – The Alma College men's basketball team traveled to southwest Michigan to compete against the Hope College Flying Dutchmen. Alma held a lead at half but the Dutch completed a comeback to clip the Scots in their first meeting of the season. 

The contest started out as a back-and-forth meeting with both teams scoring on opening possessions and those that followed. Alma then found their footing and went on a 12-2 run, getting all important defensive stops to give themselves a 12-point lead. The Flying Dutchmen would make some defensive stops of their own but the Scots would still hold a several possession lead over Hope throughout the first half. The Scots would take their largest lead of the half with just over four minutes remaining with the score being 34-18. At half the Scots would lead Hope 36-26 looking to break their recent struggles. 

Alma continued their solid gameplay as they started the second half, keeping a solid lead over Hope, but not enough where the Dutchmen were out of the game. A few defensive breakthroughs for Hope tightened the game up with just over fifteen minutes remaining in the game. With each minute that ticked away from the game clock, the game became a nailbiter as Alma would hold a two or three possession lead over Hope but defensive stops and conversions on the other end of the court would decide the winner of this game. With ten minutes remaining, Hope would take a one-point lead for the first time since the opening minutes of the game. Baskets on both sides prevented Hope from taking a lead until they put together a few stops and took a two-possession lead. The final six minutes were crucial as both teams were getting crucial stops but Alma made some costly turnovers which would put them behind more than they could recover. The Scots would battle until the final seconds with the Flying Dutchmen, but Hope would sneak away with a victory over the Scots, 83-76.

Landen Moore-Pierce found a groove again and led the Scots in the contest with 15 points. Josh Elliott and Connor Riley followed behind with 12 and 11, respectively. Colton Meister led the way in the rebounding category with eight boards and he also added three blocks for the game. Riley collected four assists by finding open teammates to lead Alma. 

The men will be back in action on Wednesday, January 25th, as they travel to Albion for a midweek conference matchup. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

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Story Credit: Eli Pinter, Sports Information Intern