UOlivet loses to UW-Stevens Point, 76-63

OLIVET, Mich. – The University of Olivet men's basketball team was on the losing end of a 76-63 final score to University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in a non-league game this afternoon at the Cutler Event Center. The Pointers are receiving votes in this week's D3hoops.com Top 25 poll.

THE BASICS

• Final Score: UW-Stevens Point 76, Olivet 63
• Location: Cutler Event Center; Olivet, Michigan
• Records: Olivet 2-5 overall, UW-Stevens Point 7-1 overall

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Comets jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the first three minutes of the game. Olivet held the lead until the Pointers used a 6-0 run to turn an 11-6 deficit into a 12-11 lead. The Comets responded with a 5-0 spurt for a 16-12 advantage with 13 minutes left in the first half. UW-Stevens Point came back with its own 5-0 run to regain the lead, 17-16.
• Olivet countered with a 6-0 spurt to go up five points, 22-17, at the 10:41 mark. A 6-0 Pointer run put them ahead 23-22 with 9:05 remaining until halftime. The teams traded baskets to exchange the lead three times. After the Comets went ahead 26-25, UW-Stevens Point had a 7-0 run to take its largest lead of the half, 34-28.
• Olivet came back with an 8-0 spurt for a 36-34 lead with three minutes showing on the first-half clock. The teams traded baskets to keep the advantage within reach for either team. The Pointers made a three-pointer right before the halftime buzzer to take a 42-38 lead at the break.
• UW-Stevens Points extended its lead to nine points, 50-41, at the 15:26 mark of the second half. The Comets scored the next four points to trail, 50-45. The Pointers stretched their lead to as many as 14 points on multiple occasions. Olivet closed the gap to single digits, 69-60, but did not get any closer for the rest of the game.
• For the game, both teams shot an identical field goal percentage at 50.0. The Pointers made 27 baskets to 26 for the Comets. UW-Stevens Points made two more baskets from behind the arc – six to four – and nine more three throws – 16 to 7.

FOR THE COMETS

• Junior Nathan Richardson scored a team-best 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting.
• Sophomore Porter Kretschman added 11 points, including two slam dunks. He also grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
• Junior Conner Schipper contributed 10 points, four rebounds and three blocks.

COACH'S QUOTE

"We'll take some positive things from this loss," said Olivet head men's basketball coach Sam Hargraves. "If we played as tough as we did for much of this game today, we would probably have a 5-2 or 4-3 record right now. Today, we went toe-to-toe for a while with a historically proud and respected program. We'll get better from this and still need to learn how to truly complete with confidence for 40 minutes. If we ever do, it could be a lot of fun."

UP NEXT

• Olivet plays an exhibition game next Wednesday, December 17, at Central Michigan University at 7 p.m. The next countable game is next Friday, December 19, at Carthage (Wis.) College. Tip-off is at 2 p.m. ET.