The Kalamazoo College men's basketball team lost its home opener 76-73 to Chicago on Saturday.

The Kalamazoo offense was clicking in the first half as the Hornets jumped out to an 11-2 lead in the first four minutes and led by as many as 17 points (34-17) with 6:03 remaining. Kalamazoo took a 39-29 lead into halftime.

Kalamazoo led by 11 (53-42) with 13:04 remaining in the second half and 10 (60-50) with 10:08, but the visiting Maroons came charging back and finally tied the score at 63-63 with 3:34 left to play. Chicago took its first lead of the game (64-63) on a free throw and maintained a lead of not more than six points until the final buzzer.

Kalamazoo shot 50 percent overall and 54.5 percent (12-22) from three-point range while Chicago shot 45.8 percent overall and 40.9 percent (9-22) from behind the arch. Chicago made 13-of-21 free throws compared to 9-of-14 for Kalamazoo.

Chicago held a 36-26 advantage in rebounds, including 19-10 on the offensive end resulting in a 17-7 advantage in second chance points.

Mark Ghafari led Kalamazoo with 28 points, five assists, and four rebounds while nailing 5-of-9 three pointers. Carter Goetz added nine points while Adam Peters scored six points with five rebounds. Keith Garber chipped in eight points and three rebounds off the bench.

Kalamazoo returns to action on Sunday with a 3 p.m. start against North Central College.