CHICAGO – The University of Chicago men's basketball team pulled away down the stretch to thwart the comeback bid and defeat Kalamazoo College 72-63 on Wednesday night.

The Maroons improved to 4-3 on the season while the Hornets fell to 1-3.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair throughout. Every time UChicago looked poised to pull ahead, Kalamazoo would answer with a basket of its own. The lead changed hands a total of 16 times over the course of the game.

Thomas Kurowski splashed a three-pointer to make it 28-26 with just under five minutes left in the half. But the Hornets closed out with a 9-2 run to go up 35-30 at the break.

Both teams were hot from deep, as each side sank 13 three-pointers in the game (42 percent for UChicago and 46 percent for Kalamazoo). It was Elliot Paschal who took over offensively early in the second half as he scored nine-straight points to put his team back ahead at 45-43. Jackson Piotrowski followed up by converting back-to-back treys to push the advantage to 51-43.

A Paschal layup gave UChicago its biggest lead of the game at 62-48. However, Kalamazoo kept bombing away from deep and made things interesting. The visitors clawed to within six points in the final minute of the game. But the Maroons were able to see out the game from there to win 72-63.

Paschal tallied 13 second-half points en route to a season-high 18. Kurowski posted 13 points and seven rebounds, while Alec Bryan recorded 13 points and four rebounds. Ezra Moos contributed nine points, eight rebounds and three assists. Josh Preston grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.

UChicago shot 44 percent from the field compared to 42 percent by Kalamazoo. The Maroons dominated the boards 47-25. The two teams also combined for 29 turnovers.

NEXT GAME:

• Sunday, Dec. 11 @ 2:00 PM – Edgewood College at UChicago