Jan. 6, 2006

BULLDOGS PULL AWAY FOR THIRD STRAIGHT WIN
Second half surge lifts Adrian past Hornets

By Ed Patino
Sports Information Assistant

ADRIAN, Mich. – The Adrian College men’s basketball team is starting to make its early season struggles a memory.

The Bulldogs had all the right answers as a fast start and strong finish keyed a 77-65 victory over the Kalamazoo College Hornets in a MIAA conference game at the Merillat Center.

After opening the season with eight straight losses, Adrian (3-8, 2-0 MIAA) scored its third consecutive victory. The winning streak is the Bulldogs’ longest since Dec. 20-30, 2005. Adrian also defeated Kalamazoo (2-9, 0-2 MIAA) for the first time since in two seasons.

The Bulldogs hit 43 percent from the floor on the night, but a tough defense held Kalamazoo to 39 percent shooting. Adrian also hit 23-of-28 at the foul line, a far cry from their free throw struggles last season.

There was no hangover from the overtime victory against Albion as the Bulldogs opened the game with a 16-3 run in the first five minutes. Adrian constantly attacked inside during the run, and Desmond Young converted a traditional 3-point play to cap the surge. The Hornets were held without a field goal until Matt Wagner’s layup 5:15 into the game.

A missile by Lamar Cardenas gave Adrian a 29-17 lead with just over seven minutes left in the half, but the Hornets fought their way back in the game with an 11-2 run. A layup and two free throws by Mat Kellogg pulled Kalamazoo to within three, but Andy Kubish answered with a 3-pointer, layup and free throw, making it 37-28.

The Hornets inched closer in the final two minutes as a 3-pointer by Tyler Worst and layup by Kellogg cut Adrian’s lead to two, but Cardenas buried a 3-pointer with eight seconds left and the Bulldogs took a 41-36 lead into halftime.

The teams exchanged baskets in the first four minutes of the second half, but Adrian took control with a 19-8 run over a nine minute span. A 3-pointer by Ryan Gallus started the run, then layups by Young and Steve Thornton pushed the lead to 54-42. Later, a jumper by Clark Rowekamp and layup from Cardenas put the Bulldogs up 14 with 6:14 remaining.

Adrian took its biggest lead of the game at 69-52 after Rowekamp hit a pair of free throws. The Hornets never got closer than 12 points after that.

Kubish had 15 points to lead the Bulldogs, while Young added 14 points. Cardenas finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, while Thornton had eight points and seven rebounds for Adrian.

Kellogg scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead Kalamazoo. Worst added 15 points, while Clancy finished with 10 points for the Hornets.

The Bulldogs will return to action Jan. 10 when they host Calvin College. The Knights have won five straight and six of the last seven meetings with Adrian since 2003. Calvin also captured the MIAA title by defeating the Bulldogs in the 2004 MIAA Tournament final.

Adrian’s last victory over the Knights came Jan. 31, 2004 in a victory at the Merillat Center.