Men’s basketball team comes up just short against Spring Arbor, 79-78
The Olivet College men’s basketball team came up just short against Spring Arbor University, 79-78, this afternoon at The Cutler Event Center in Olivet.
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
39 | 40 | 79 |
|
|
37 | 41 | 78 |
Team Stats
Spring Arbor
| Game Statistics | Spring Arbor | Olivet |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (29-56) | (31-66) |
| Field Goal % | 51.8% | 47.0% |
| Rebounds | 32 | 32 |
| Assists | 11 | 17 |
| Turnovers | 14 | 12 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 20 | 23 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 10 | 2 |
| Pts in the Paint | 36 | 22 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 0 | 0 |
| Bench Pts | 18 | 17 |
OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College men's basketball team came up just short against Spring Arbor University, 79-78, this afternoon at The Cutler Event Center in Olivet.
In the first half, the Comets led by as many six points on three occasions with the last time being 18-12. The Cougars came back with an 8-2 run to tie the game at 20-20. After the seventh tied score of the first half (33-33), Spring Arbor went on a 6-0 run to take a 39-33 lead. Olivet scored the final four points to trail by just points, 39-37, at the break.
The Comets took a 52-51 lead with 14:29 left in the second half. The Cougars answered by scoring nine straight points for a 60-52 lead. They continued to lead until the 7:28 mark when Olivet regained the lead 69-68. A layup started an 8-1 scoring spurt to put Spring Arbor up by six points, 76-70, at the 3:56 mark.
Undaunted the Comets fought back to trail by two points, 78-76. Senior Jaren Edsall (Whitehall) then stole a pass and was fouled on the play. He made both free throws to tie the game at 78-78. After three timeouts, Matt Howe missed a potential game-winning layup, grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled with 0.1 seconds left. He split the two free throws to lift Spring Arbor to the win.
For the game, Olivet shot 47 percent (31-of-66) to 51.8 percent (29-of-56) for the Cougars. The Comets made 11 three-pointers to eight for Spring Arbor. The difference in the game was the free throw line, where the Cougars were 13-of-17 and Olivet was just 5-of-6.
For the Comets, junior Alvino Ashley (Detroit/MLK) scored a team-leading 19 points. Edsall joined him in double figures with 18 points, including four 3-pointers. Junior Matt El (Allegan) had 11 points and team-high eight rebounds. Freshman Marquis Childers (Muskegon Heights) scored nine points and dished out nine assists.
For Spring Arbor, Howe led all players with 26 points. Chris Bellamy finished with 21 points and seven rebounds. Rob Hogans had 10 points.
Olivet (1-6) is back in action next Thursday, Dec. 15, when it hosts Bethany (W.Va.) College at 7 p.m.