ADRIAN, Mich. – It was the kind of start that the Bulldogs were looking for on Wednesday night in a third-place matchup against Hope College. Adrian and Hope traded the lead five times in the first six-plus minutes of the contest at the Merillat Center Gym and then the Bulldogs began to pull away.

Justin Webster hit a pair of free throws followed by a Rickey Jackson, Jr. bucket to give the Bulldogs a 19-14 lead. Jackson, Jr. then converted a fast-break layup forcing a Hope timeout with 11:16 left in the first half. Jackson, Jr. again scored a fast-break layup and Adrian was up 23-14. Unfortunately for Adrian however a field goal at the 9:55 mark was their final one of the half. Hope buckled down defensively and allowed just two free throws closing out the half on a 17-2 run to gain a 31-25 lead at the break.

In the second half, Hope quickly jumped out to an 11-point lead, 38-27, with 17:28 remaining in the game. The lead would balloon to 16 points eight minutes into the second half and Adrian could not recover to make a serious threat. The Bulldogs fought hard and did cut the lead down to seven at 52-45 with 6:25 remaining after a Jordan Denham three. Alex Eidson would split at the free throw line on the next possession and then Justin Webster's bucket in the paint cut the lead to 53-47.

Eidson would calmly bury a three and then Chad Carlson did the same on back-to-back possessions for Hope extended the lead back to double digits at 59-49 with 3:04 to play. Those baskets proved to be huge as Adrian got no closer than eight for the rest of the contest. Hope shot 50 percent (24-of-48) from the floor overall while Adrian shot 36.2 percent (21-of-58). Adrian held onto the ball well with just eight turnovers compared to 13 for the Flying Dutchmen. Each team grabbed 33 rebounds with 13 offensive boards for the Bulldogs.

Jackson, Jr. led all scorers with 20 points going 8-of-14 from the floor. He also grabbed five rebounds and collected three steals in 36 minutes. Justin Webster came off the bench to score 12 points and grab five boards. Ben Rodak chipped in seven points and six rebounds but struggled at 3-of-12 from the floor. Eidson's 16 points led Hope while Harrison Blackledge (13) and Ben Gardner (10) were also in double figures. Brock Benson had a slow start but managed nine points and a game-high nine boards in 29 minutes. Hope improved to 5-2 in the MIAA and have won five in a row. Adrian slips to 4-3 in the league and will conclude a three-game homestand on Saturday with a 3 p.m. tip against Olivet.