The Hope College men's basketball team is determined to make the upset of a nationally-ranked opponent earlier this week the start of something special.

With the regular season winding down, the Flying Dutchmen built off the season's biggest victory with another one on Saturday.

Hope zapped the Hornets of Kalamazoo College, winning 78-67 at DeVos Fieldhouse three days after knocking off seventh-ranked Trine University at home.

The Flying Dutchmen (11-10 overall, 6-4 MIAA) remained tied for third place in the league standings with The University of Olivet. Both teams stretched their lead over fifth-place Adrian College and Albion College to two games.

The third- and fourth-place teams get to host first-round games in the MIAA Tournament. Calvin University (10-0 MIAA) and Trine (8-2) hold the inside edge for first-round byes with four regular-season games remaining.

"We got a lot of really good play from a lot of guys," head coach Greg Mitchell said. "Balanced attack, that's how we need to be. We built on Wednesday."

Hope put four in double figures.

Guard Justice Mims (Rochester Hills, Michigan /Rochester Adams HS) scored a game-high 19 points off the bench. The junior shot 69.2 from the field (9/13) while also grabbing four rebounds.

Junior guard Marcus Wourman (East Lansing, Michigan / East Lansing) delivered as well, totaling 18 points off 57.1% field-goal shooting (8-14).

Sophomore forward Parker Hovey (Shelby, Michigan / Hart) chipped in 17 points with 75% field-goal shooting (6/8), including team-highs with three 3-pointers and four assists.

Senior center Gabe Quillan (Ada, Michigan / Forest Hills Central) collected 15 points on 87.5% field-goal shooting with only one miss in eight attempts. Quillan also pulled down a game-high nine rebounds and blocked a season-high five shots.

The Flying Dutchmen closed the first half on a 13-6 run that extended their lead to 44-33 at halftime.

Kalamazoo (9-12, 2-8 MIAA) never rallied closer than eight points during the second half.

"We have a lot of respect for Kalamazoo and how they play. We knew they weren't going 0-for-18 [from 3 like the first meeting this season]. We saw a good team today," Mitchell said. "The most important part of the game was how we finished the first half. We took advantage of the fouls-to-give by ramping up the defensive pressure and getting a couple of steals. We took a six-point lead into an 11-point lead."

DJ Ferguson and Lucas Hanifan topped the Hornets with 16 and 15 points.

Hope will play its next three games on the road, beginning on Wednesday, Feb. 12, at 7 p.m. at Adrian College. 

The Flying Dutchmen return to DeVos Fieldhouse on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 3 p.m. to face Albion.