Men’s basketball: Olivet opens season with 61-57 win over Manchester

OLIVET, Mich. – Senior DeOndre Callahan made a three-pointer with 43 seconds left to put the Olivet College men's basketball team ahead of Manchester (Ind.) University by one point as the Comets defeated the Spartans, 61-57, in their home and season-opener tonight at The Cutler Event Center in Olivet.

Olivet led the first half from start-to-finish, leading by as many as 10 points, 20-10, after senior Blake Krum made a fast break layup. The Comets had an eight-point lead, 30-22, at halftime.

Manchester chipped away at its deficit and tied the game at 36-36 with 13 minutes left in the game. Olivet went on a 9-0 run to go up 45-36, at the 10:23 mark. The Spartans did not go down quietly as they took their first lead of the game, 55-53, with 1:28 remaining in the contest.

The Comets missed a game-tying layup. A Manchester player grabbed the defensive rebound before a different player turned the ball over, with Callahan getting credit for the steal off the turnover. Callahan then nailed a deep three-pointer off a pass from Krum for a 56-55 Olivet lead.

Another Spartan turnover with 27 seconds left led to two made free throws by sophomore Kevin Woodson to push the Comets lead to three points, 58-55, with 24 ticks left in regulation. Manchester quickly scored a layup to make the score 58-57.

The Spartans were forced to foul, and Krum made the first free throw. On the second try, Krum missed but junior Anthony Easter was able to grab the offensive rebound and put the ball into the basket for the final 61-57 score.

For the game, the Comets shot 34.3 percent (23-of-67) from the floor to 48.6 percent (18-of-37) for Manchester. The difference in the game was Olivet turned the ball over only four times, while the Spartans had 25 turnovers. The Comets were credited with 17 steals to three for Manchester.

Olivet had a balanced scoring attack. Callahan led the way with 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting. Easter finished with 11 points and nine rebounds. Krum and sophomore R.J. Haas came off the bench to score eight points apiece. Woodson scored five points. Senior Jordan Union dished out four assists.

The Comets travel to Wheaton (Ill.) College Friday and Saturday for the Lee Pfund Classic. Olivet will play the host Thunder on Friday night at 9 p.m. ET. The consolation and championship games are set for Saturday evening at 7 and 9 p.m., respectively. As part of the tournament, the Wheaton Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is sponsoring a Thanksgiving food drive. Fans can bring a canned or boxed food item to receive a $1 off admission.