KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Adrian College men's basketball team has been prone to shooting slumps during the course of their losses this season. On Wednesday night it was a drought over the final 6:25 of the game that led to a 46-40 loss to the Hornets of Kalamazoo College. The last nine points of the contest were scored by the home team as the Bulldogs missed their final eight shots. Adrian was looking to keep pace in the MIAA standings and pick up yet another road conference win. The Bulldogs are now 5-11 overall and 3-2 in the league and have dropped four straight to the Hornets.

Adrian clawed their way back into the game after a rough first half. The Bulldogs trailed 28-15 at halftime and converted just 25 percent (6-for-24) from the floor. The Hornets shot 40 percent in the first half but the Adrian defense tightened allowing 25 percent shooting in the second half. Adrian found their touch in the second half going 4-for-8 behind the arc and 9-for-10 at the foul line.

The Bulldogs trailed 32-20 less than five minutes into the second half after a layup by Jordan Denham. Rickey Jackson, Jr. began to warm up under 14 minutes left as he scored a jump shot and then hit back-to-back triples to cut the lead to 37-30 with 9:46 to play. Jackson, Jr. made a pair of free throws and Curtis Gordon followed with a three-pointer to make it 37-35 with 8:27 to go. Eli Robertson then scored his biggest basket of the season with a three to give Adrian a 38-37 lead with 7:34 remaining.

Jackson, Jr. converted two more free throws to push the lead to 40-37 and then Adrian used a timeout. Kalamazoo stopped the 16-0 run by the Bulldogs with a Josh Miller basket with 6:12 left. Neither team would score over the next five minutes each making defensive stops. Adam Peters made a three-point play with 57 seconds left to give Kalamazoo the lead for good. Peters made two more free throws with 30 seconds left to make it a two-possession game at 44-40. Josh Whitney knocked down two more freebies with five seconds to seal the win.

Jackson, Jr. led all scorers with 15 points and also grabbed eight boards. Fellow teammate Gordon notched 10 points, five rebounds and two steals. Jake Whitney led the Hornets off the bench with nine points. Peters finished with eight points and five boards for Kalamazoo. Adrian will return home for three straight games beginning with a 3 p.m. tip against Alma on Saturday.