ADRIAN, Mich. — The Adrian College men’s basketball team defeated the Hope Flying Dutchmen to bring the Bulldog conference record to 6-5 on the season. Adrian led 37-23 at halftime behind a monster first half by Jordan Harris. The Bulldogs have held a team to below 25 points in the first half for the second game in a row. After a second half battle, the Bulldogs came away with a 71-65 victory over the Dutchmen.
The Bulldogs led 20-12 early in the game after Jordan Harris knocked down a three-pointer and followed it up with making 2-of-3 free throws after being fouled beyond the arc. Hope later brought the score to 23-14 in favor of Adrian and forced the Bulldogs to call timeout. Kaleb Swick came into the game for Adrian and scored a layup to lead by 13 at 29-16. With an 11-point lead and the shot clock off for the first half, Harris drained a three at the buzzer to head into the break with a 37-23 lead.
Hope climbed back into the game in the second half and shrunk the Adrian lead to five points after a made three-point shot. Hope struck again from deep and brought to score to 55-54 in favor of the gold and black. Trey Helinski made a clutch three to lead by six again, but the game was kept close the rest of the way. Hope trailed by five with a minute to play but was forced to foul to send the Bulldogs to the line. Adrian hit the late free throws and secured the 71-65 win.
Here are the updated MIAA Men’s Basketball standings:
Albion 19-3 (10-1, MIAA)
Calvin 13-9 (7-4, MIAA)
Trine 13-9 (7-4, MIAA)
Alma 12-10 (6-5, MIAA)
Adrian 12-10 (6-5, MIAA)
Hope 11-11 (4-7, MIAA)
Kalamazoo 5-17 (2-9, MIAA)
Olivet 5-17 (2-9, MIAA)
Adrian returns to action at home on Saturday, February 15 as they host the MIAA top seeded Albion College on senior day. The Bulldogs will graduate three seniors and will start the senior day ceremony right before tip-off.