ADRIAN, Mich. -- The Adrian College men's basketball team advanced to the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) tournament semifinal with an 83-73 win over the Hope College Flying Dutchmen. The Bulldogs led 36-34 at halftime and came out strong to start the second half to pull ahead for good.

THE BASICS

Final: Adrian 83, Hope 73

Location: Adrian, Mich. (Merillat Sport and Fitness Center)

Records: Adrian 15-11, Hope 12-13

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Bulldogs fell behind early with Hope jumping out to an 18-12 lead with eight minutes played in the first half. Adrian went on a 13-3 run to take the lead 26-23 with six minutes to play in the first half. Kendall Bellamy and Jeremy Kalonji made shots to continue the Adrian lead. With time ticking down, Trey Helinski took a shot from the corner that rimmed in an out of the net and no good to end the first 20 minutes of play at 36-34. 

Bellamy made back-to-back layups to start the second half for Adrian to spark its early run and to bring the score to 42-36. After not scoring in the first half, Jordan Harris came to life and scored the next six points for Adrian. With a 54-43 lead and 11 minutes left to play in the second half, Harris smacked four three-pointers in a row to put Adrian up big. Adrian's biggest lead of the night was 22 with 9:16 left to play.

Hope started to climb back into the game to and bring the deficit to 11 with under a minute to go. Late free throws by the Bulldogs allowed them to hold on for the win and advance to Friday's semifinal game. The first round win marks the first MIAA conference tournament win since February of 2012 when Adrian knocked off Trine to advance to the MIAA championship.

UP NEXT

The Bulldogs to travel to Albion College for a neutral sited game against No. 2 Calvin University. Adrian defeated Calvin at home 76-59 but finished the regular season with a 29-point loss in Grand Rapids. The Bulldogs and the Knights will tip-off at 5:00 PM at the Kresge Gymnasium at Albion College