Men’s basketball: Olivet falls to No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan, 73-53

OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College men's basketball team was on the short end of a 73-53 score to Indiana Wesleyan University today at The Cutler Event Center in Olivet. IWU entered the game ranked No. 1 in the latest NAIA Top 25 poll.

After the Wildcats led 3-2, the Comets went on an 8-0 run to take their largest lead of the half, 10-3, with 14:18 left before the break. Olivet continued to lead until the 9:42 mark when Bob Peters made a layup to put IWU ahead 16-15. The Wildcats took their biggest lead, 33-25, at the 1:19 mark. Sophomore Zach Walker made a pair of free throws to make the score 33-27 at halftime.

In the first four minutes and 34 seconds of the second half, IWU scored 15 straight points to go up by 21 points, 48-27. The Comets went on a 7-0 scoring run to trail by only 14 points, 48-34, but they would not get any closer for the rest of the game.

In defeat, senior Jordan Union led Olivet with 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Sophomore R.J. Haas contributed 10 points. Sophomore Shaun McKinney had a team-leading four rebounds.

Lane Mahurin paced the Wildcats with 14 points. Peters and Aaron Murray came off the bench to score 10 points apiece. Zac Vanderwater grabbed a game-high seven rebounds.

The Comets return to the court in only two days, Monday, Dec. 15, when they host Marygrove College at 7:30 p.m. The game is a part of a basketball doubleheader, as the Olivet women also plays Marygrove before the men's game at 5 p.m.