Men’s basketball: Olivet upended by Alma, 76-70

ALMA, Mich. – Senior Blake Krum scored a season-high 19 points, as the Olivet College men's basketball team lost 76-70 to Alma College tonight at Art Smith Arena in Alma.

In the first half, the Scots led by six points, 11-5. Alma continued to lead until back-to-back three-pointers by freshman Jake Zielinski put the Comets ahead for the first time, 20-18, at the 9:19 mark. The Scots answered with five straight points to take the lead back 23-20.

Olivet countered with its own 5-0 run, capped by another Zielinski triple, to go back up 25-23. After three more tied scores, 25-25, 27-27 and 30-30, Alma took a 34-30 lead on two layups. Freshman Shaun McKinney made a basket at the halftime buzzer to make the score 34-32 at the break.

The Scots extended their lead to 12 points, 44-32, in the first three minutes and 36 seconds of the second half. Olivet answered with a 16-2 run to take the lead back, 48-46, with 11:55 remaining in the contest. Alma responded with 12 consecutive points to go up 58-48.

The Comets did not go away, as they trailed by only two points on five occasions, with the last time being 69-67. The Scots made a three-pointer and 4-of-4 shooting from the free throw line in the final 23 seconds to seal their victory.

Krum came off the bench to score his team-high 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 5-of-6 from three-point range. Zielinski chipped in 12 points, while senior Jordan Union added 10. Sophomore R.J. Haas grabbed a team-high six rebounds.

Alma was led by the duo of Doug Bradfield and Scott Nikodemski who scored 20 and 19 points, respectively. DJ Beckman finished with 11 points. Bradfield also pulled down a game-high seven rebounds.

Olivet hosts Hope College Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.