Men’s Basketball: Balanced scoring lifts Olivet past Penn State Altoona, 82-68

OLIVET, Mich. – The University of Olivet men's basketball team had a balanced scoring attack to beat Penn State Altoona, 82-68, this afternoon inside the Cutler Event Center.

• Final Score: Olivet 82, Penn State Altoona 68
• Location: Cutler Event Center; Olivet, Michigan
• Records: Olivet 2-2 overall, Penn State Altoona 1-4 overall

• Olivet senior Noah Wiswary and Penn State Altoona's Elliot Johansson traded three-pointers to start the game. The Comets scored the next six points on a free throw by freshman Lee Hardy, three-pointer by senior Ryan Bart and layup by Hardy to go up 9-3. Olivet extended its lead to seven points, 13-6, before the Lions went on an 11-5 run to cut their deficit down to a single point.
• Freshman Nathan Richardson nailed a three-pointer, but Penn State Altoona answered with its own triple to make the score 21-20 at the 11:02 mark. The Comets responded with a 13-2 run over the next five minutes to stretch their advantage to 12 points for their largest lead of the half, 34-22. The Lions battled back to close the gap to four points, 36-32, before two free throws by freshman Conner Schipper made the score 38-32 at halftime.
• Penn State Altoona put the first five points on the scoreboard in the second half. Wiswary drained a three-pointer to put Olivet back ahead by four points. The Comets kept at least a four-point lead for the remainder of the game.
• For the game, the Comets shot 41.0 percent (25-of-61) to 32.3 percent (21-of-65) for the Lions. Penn State Altoona made two more three-pointers, 11 to 9, but Olivet had eight more free throws, 23 to 15.

• Four Olivet starters reached double digits in the scoring column.
• Richardson netted a team-high 17 points, while making four steals.
• Bart scored 16 points, while grabbing six rebounds and dishing out three assists.
• Hardy posted a double-double-double with 15 points and game-high 14 rebounds.
• Wiswary tallied 15 points and four assists.
• The fifth starter, senior Drew Weber, had four points, four assists, two steals and six rebounds.
• Schipper came off the bench to score eight points, pull down six rebounds and block three shots.

• "Overall, it was a solid win today," said Olivet head coach Sam Hargraves. "We made the necessary plays on both sides of the ball to secure the win. Of course, I wish we could have opened things up more at some point, but it just didn't happen. I thought Altoona played really hard and kept within striking distance the entire time. It's always good to be in pressure situations like today and be able to find a way to get it done."

• Olivet wraps-up a three-game homestand Saturday, November 25, when it hosts Elmhurst (Ill.) University. Tip-off is at 6 p.m. ET.