ADRIAN, Mich. - The anticipated matchup between Adrian College and Hope College was quickly a game where the Bulldogs were scratching and clawing to get back into the game. Hope (7-6, 2-0) started the game on fire and with a great deal of passion as they hit on all cylinders. The Flying Dutchmen made a statement by leading wire-to-wire in an 81-72 final against an Adrian team that came into the game allowing just 54.1 points per game. Hope's final total was a season-high allowed by the Bulldogs (11-2, 0-2).

Entering the week, Adrian rose to No. 7 in Division III after starting the season with an 11-0 record. The Bulldogs are now looking to snap their first losing streak of the season as they now prepare for a Trine University team that is now 9-4 overall and 2-0 in the MIAA. That Wednesday, Jan. 9 matchup against the Thunder at Merillat Gymnasium becomes an early conference must-win if Adrian has any thoughts of contending for the MIAA regular season title.

Hope started out on a 7-0 run in the first 1:45 and then extended their lead to 11-2 as Adrian went through two timeouts to stop the momentum. Brock Benson scored six points and established the inside game for Hope that they would go to frequently during the game. Hope further built their lead to 16-2 just 4:14 into the game as Alex Edison made a three-pointer and Caleb Byers followed with a pair of free throws.

Adrian stayed in the game over the next few minutes and cut the lead down to nine points at 24-15 with 10:34 left in the first half after a split at the foul line by sophomore Eric Lewis. Hope responded with a 10-0 run to increase their lead back to 19 points with 6:46 left in the half. Colton Overway scored five points during the run including a three-point play to conclude the run. The Bulldogs trailed by 21 points with 2:18 left in the half for their largest deficit of the contest. Hope led 43-26 at halftime and scored 20 points in the paint while shooting 53.3 percent from the floor.

Adrian showed a lot of heart slowly creeping back into a position to possibly pull off a major comeback. The Bulldogs cut the lead down to nine points at the 12:52 mark outscoring Hope 22-14. Lewis converted on a fast-break layup after a brilliant steal and Adrian called a timeout. Hope again pushed the lead back to 15 at 65-50 with 9:08 remaining after a Billy Seiler layup. Adrian made one final push as they cut the lead down to seven with 3:04 to play. Lewis misfired on a triple and Adam Meier also missed a putback attempt before finally scoring with 1:18 left to make it 75-70 and force a Hope timeout.

Hope got the ball in the hands of Chase DeMaagd who split at the free throw line but senior Cody Barnes missed a three-pointer. Senior Sean Gallant was there to grab the rebound and went to the line making both with 45 seconds left to make it 76-72. Ben Gardner made two big free throws and Adrian could not score down the final stretch as they saw Hope make three more free throws to seal it.

Barnes had a career-high 25 points eclipsing his previous high of 21. He went 8-of-17 including 4-of-9 from the arc and 5-of-5 at the line in 39 minutes. Lewis finished with 17 points but shot just 7-of-21 from the floor and 2-of-5 at the line in 40 minutes. Gallant netted 13 points and grabbed four rebounds. Hope outscored Adrian, 34-22, in the paint as Benson recorded a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. He averaged 6.1 points and 3.6 rebounds coming into the game. The Flying Dutchmen held a big advantage at the line going 27-of-35 compared to 13-of-18 for the Bulldogs. Overway scored 18 points and dished out five assists for Hope.