The Alma College Scots turned up the defense in the second half resulting in a  73-59 victory over Bluffton in the 2021-22 men's basketball season opener on Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021.

Bluffton trailed 22-13 with just over eight minutes to play in the first half when sophomore Trey Clemons (Mainville/Little Miami) got to the rack and senior Jameel Cosby (Springfield/Kenton Ridge) followed with a hoop and harm. Back-to-back pickoffs by Cosby and junior Miguel Ringer (Cincinnati/Cincinnati Christian) turned into four quick points and then another old-fashioned three-point play by Cosby put the good guys up 25-24 at the 5:43 mark.

The visitors continued their late first half offensive onslaught with consecutive triples from Cosby and two Clemons freebies as the Beavers used a 23-10 jag over the final eight minutes to take a 36-32 lead into the locker room. Cosby lit up the Scots with 18 points in the opening stanza.

Junior Mike Ketner (Minster) knocked down a deuce and Cosby netted a pair of foul shots, giving Bluffton a 40-32 lead at the 18:12 mark. That is where the good times came to a screeching halt thanks to four Alma treys over the next seven minutes as the Scots turned an eight-point deficit into a 51-49 lead.

Bluffton's offense continued to struggle as it managed just four Cosby points over the next eight minutes while Alma was opening a 67-55 spread with three minutes to play. A Cosby lay-in and two free throws made it an eight-point game, but the Scots went 6-of-6 at the stripe to close out their 73-59 win on Tuesday night.

Cosby was a perfect 8-of-8 at the line on his way to a career-high 28 points. Clemons also got in on the career-high business with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field. Ringer added a career-best eight counters, also on 4-of-5 from the field. Cosby stuffed the stat sheet with team highs of six boards, three assists and four assists.

Bluffton hit 22-of-56 from the field (39.3 percent), including a paltry 4-of-18 (22.2 percent) from distance. The Beavers were a sparkling 11-of-12 (91.7 percent) at the charity stripe. Alma pulled down nine more rebounds (32-23), but the visitors came away with eight more steals (9-1). The home team finished with a 10-point edge (42-32) in the paint.

The Beavers will head to Heidelberg University on Wednesday, Nov. 17, for a 7 p.m. matchup with the Student Princes.