Men’s basketball team falls to Capital, 83-57

OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College men's basketball team was on the losing end of an 83-57 score to Capital (Ohio) University in a non-conference contest tonight at The Cutler Event Center in Olivet.

The Crusaders opened the game by scoring the first 12 points. The Comets battled back and cut their deficit in half, 12-6, with 14:54 left in the first half. Olivet would get no closer the rest of half, as Capital saw its lead grow to as many as 27 points, 48-21, at the 2:01 mark. The Comets trailed by 23 points, 49-26, at halftime.

In the second half, Olivet would get as close as 17 points, 59-42, with 11:29 remaining in the game. The Crusaders built their lead to 30 points on two occasions, with the last time being 74-44 at the 5:50 mark.

Junior Eric Ewing scored a season-high 14 points to lead the Comets. Freshman Chase Brocker and sophomore Quintin Way each scored a career-high 13 points. Ewing and junior R.J. Haas grabbed four rebounds apiece.

Mark Minch led Capital with a game-high 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Michael Green added 16 points, while Joe Thomas came off the bench to score 10. A.J. Dixon finished with a game-high 10 rebounds.

Olivet returns to action next Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 21-22, at the Holland Sentinel/Russ DeVette Classic, hosted by Hope College and played at the DeVos Fieldhouse in Holland. On Monday, the Comets play Grace Bible College, and on Tuesday, they face Hanover (Ind.) College. Both games have a 6 p.m. tip-off time.