by Eva Dean Folkert

The Hope College men's basketball team concluded its 2021 regular season with an 83-62 win over the Kalamazoo College Hornets on the road on Saturday.

With the victory, Hope improves to 6-4 overall and 4-2 in the MIAA. Kalamazoo falls to 3-4 overall and 2-4 in the league.

The MIAA Tournament now begins on Tuesday, March 2. Pairings for the bracket will be announced on Sunday.

It took a little more than half of the first half for the Flying Dutchmen to establish command over the Hornets. Kalamazoo held two early five-point leads over Hope before the Flying Dutchmen tied the score at the 9:31 mark, 17-17.

The next basket by junior guard Tyler George of Ada (Forest Hills Central HS), pictured right, put Hope up for good. The closest Kalamazoo got to the Flying Dutchmen for the rest of the game was eight points at halftime, 37-29.

Hope scored 16 three-pointers for the game on 50% shooting from the arc, as George and sophomore guard Clayton Dykhouse of Zeeland (Zeeland East HS), pictured left, knocked down four apiece.

Not surprising then, George and Dykhouse were Hope's top scorers with 18 and 16 points, respectively.

Sophomore guard Evan Thomas of Okemos (Okemos HS) also scored in double figures with 11.

Hope outrebounded Kalamazoo as well, 36-25, and senior forward Ryan Gamm of Rockford (Rockford HS) led with eight rebounds while adding eight points.

The Flying Dutchmen were in a sharing mood on Saturday, recording more assists than Kalamazoo, 20-12, with four Hope players – George, Dykhouse, Thomas, and senior forward Preston Granger of Lansing (Lansing Christian HS) – dishing off three times each.