Men’s basketball team lets lead slip away in 63-60 loss at Otterbein

WESTERVILLE, Ohio – Plaiyng with only four of its top eight players, the Olivet College men's basketball team led by 12 points in the second half before the host Cardinals came back to beat the Comets, 63-60, tonight in their first game at the Otterbein (Ohio) University Smokey Ballenger Classic and inside the Rike Center.

Final Score: Otterbein 63, Olivet 60
Location: Rike Center; Westerville, Ohio
Records: Otterbein 7-2 overall, Olivet 3-6 overall

• The Cardinals built a five-point lead, 20-15, at the 10:08 mark of the opening half. Otterbein led one more time by five points, 26-21. Over the final 5 minutes and 45 seconds of the first half, the Comets outscored the Cardinals, 7-2, to tie the game at 28-28 at halftime.
• Olivet used a 15-3 run over the first four minutes of the second half to gain a 12-point lead, 43-31. During the run, the Comets made all seven of their baskets. Otterbein chipped away at its deficit and took a 61-60 lead with 39.6 seconds left. Olivet missed the go-ahead basket and were forced to foul.
• The Cardinals missed two free throws, with senior Jackson Murphy grabbing the rebound on the second miss. The Comets turned the ball over on their ensuing possession. Otterbein split a pair of free throws to push their lead to two points, 62-60, with 14 seconds left. Olivet missed a tying basket and fouled one more time. Another 1-of-2 trip to the free throw line for the Cardinals created the final score.
• For the game, the Comets made seven more baskets, 25 to 18, but Otterbein made seven more three points, 9 to 2. The difference in the game was free throw shooting, as the Cardinals shot 69.2 percent (18-of-26) compared to 44.4 percent (8-of-18) for Olivet.

• Senior Tevin Ali scored a team-best 16 points, including 15 in the second half.
• Senior Dane Vos contributed 12 points.
• Freshman Lorris Upshaw had 11 points to go along with five rebounds and five assists in his first collegiate start.
• Junior Noah Wiswary netted 10 points.
• Freshman Patrick Hollis grabbed a team-leading eight rebounds.

• "We can make a lot of excuses why we lost tonight," said Olivet head men's basketball coach Sam Hargraves. "But the reailty is we had plenty of chances that we didn't take advantage of to win the game. We'll see what we're made of tomorrow with the quick bnack-to-back game.."

• Cam Evans led all scorers with 18 points.
• Jake Justice and Dominic Cantrella finished with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
• Reid Black tallied a game-best nine rebounds.

• The Comets stay in Ohio tonight to play Ohio Northern University tomorrow in its second game of the Smokey Ballenger Classic. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. Ohio Northern defeated Ohio Wesleyan University, 87-83, in today's other game of the tournament.