TIFFIN, Ohio – The Alma College men's basketball program received one of the most jaw-dropping single-game performances in team history and were ten seconds away from knocking off an NCAA Tournament team from last season, but a frantic comeback by Heidelberg in the final minute gave the Student Princes a 72-71 victory that will go down in Scots lore, regardless.
The Basics:
- Score
- Heidelberg – 72
- Alma – 71
- Records
- Alma (0-1, 0-0 Michigan)
- Heidelberg (1-0, 0-0 Ohio)
- Winning Streak
- Student Princes (W1) / Scots' Last Win: November 17, 2023 (86-84)
How It Happened:
Alma went 0-for-4 to begin the 2026-27 campaign before
Donovan Collins recorded the first bucket of the season, taking the casual ball flip from
Luciano Guerrazzi in the far-left corner and burying the trey to make it 3-3 with 17:20 in the first half. Heidelberg tacked on a quartet of free throws to go in front, 7-3 at the opening media timeout. Back-to-back long balls from freshman
Adam Dugener gave the visitors in maroon its first official lead of the year, 9-7 (14:24). Through the next two TV breaks, the Scots and Student Princes remained locked in step with one another as neither side could pull away by more than four, 19-19 (7:54). AC stretched the lead back out to three (32-29) with three minutes left, but a block and dunk by Jarveil Gainey ignited the Berg's student section and with an additional two free throws, also by Gainey, HU jumped ahead, 33-32. The opening 20 ended with Alma ahead of Heidelberg, 36-35, with freshman phenom Dugener the early star, dropping 15 points (three triples) off the bench in a wild half that included 13 lead changes plus nine ties.
Low-scoring was the theme heading into the opening TV timeout of the second as the teams combined for just seven points between them, knotted at 39 apiece. Neither squad can gain any separation as the score read 50-50, eight seconds prior to the halfway point. Dugener continued to carry the Scots as he was solely responsible for ten consecutive points in a four-minute stretch, including fifth three-pointer of the evening to give Alma a 55-54 upper-hand at the 7:37 mark.
Donovan Collins tied for sixth on the school's all-time three-pointer list with a massive swish from downtown Tiffin as AC swelled the edge to 59-55 (5:48). The Student Princes got six, Dugener went 4-of-4 from the charity stripe and a sweet up-and-under to give Alma a 65-63 and yet another swish from distance, a historic trey that moved him into the top-ten on the single-game list for the college, 68-63 Scots. Just when Berg was crawling back into it at 68-66, Dugener crossed the 40-point threshold with his seventh three, writing his name in that portion of the record book as well, 71-66. Unfortunately for the Scots, Heidelberg recorded the final six points of the ballgame over the final 45 seconds and the game-winning free throws with 2.5 left, to win an instant classic, 72-71.
Scots' Top Performers:
Dugener put up video game-like numbers in his eye-popping collegiate debut, tying for the third-most points of all-time and the most by an Alma student-athlete since 1990, with 41 points on 14-for-26 (53.8%) shooting on top of splashing the fifth-most three-pointers ever made in a single contest by going 7-of-15 (46.7%) from long range. The Muskegon, Michigan native and North Muskegon High School product accounted for 57.7% of the team's point production (41-of-71) while also corralling five boards.
Collins was the other player in double-digits offensively, tallying a dozen including three treys plus a game-high three steals.
Guerrazzi tied for the contest's most rebounds at 11, setting a new personal-best in the process whereas
Preston Malpass' three blocked shots provided a new career benchmark as well.
Elijah Sykes poured in an efficient nine points in just 13 minutes as a reserve while
Joss Bradley topped the club in assists (3) to conclude the night's notables.
Next:
A two-day stay in the Chicago suburbs of River Forest, Illinois are next for Coach Fitzpatrick's men as they attempt to dim the Dominican Stars and collect their first dub of the year at 8 p.m. ET on Friday.
Follow the men's basketball program on Twitter/X (
@AlmaScotsMBB) and Instagram (
@AlmaScotsMBB).
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@AlmaCollegeScots), Twitter/X (
@AlmaScots), Instagram (
@AlmaCollegeScots).
#GoScots
