Men’s basketball team defeats Albion, 67-62

OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College men's basketball team were a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line in the final 23.7 seconds of the game, as the Comets defeated Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association rival Albion College, 67-62, this evening at The Cutler Event Center in Olivet.

With Olivet clinging to a two-point lead, 57-55, in the final minute, junior Eric Ewing made a fast break layup with 37.5 seconds left. The Britons made their own layup with 30.7 ticks remaining to make the score 59-57. Following an Albion timeout, senior Lee Gardner drained two free throws. The Britons turned the ball over on their next possession.

Junior Zach Walker then made a pair of tosses from the charity stripe to put the Comets ahead by six, 63-57, with 15.4 seconds showing on the clock. After Albion made a layup with eight seconds remaining, Walker was fouled on the inbounds play and then made two more free throws to push the lead back to six, 65-59.

The Britons rushed up the floor and Dakota Kazen nailed a three-pointer to trim their deficit in half, 65-62. Sophomore Quintin Way sealed Olivet's win by making his two free throw attempts with 1.8 seconds remaining. Albion's inbound pass was swiped away by Walker to end the game.

In the first half, the Britons led by 10 points, 12-2, at the 13:04 mark. Olivet then ripped off a 13-2 run to take its first lead of the game, 15-14. Albion answered with back-to-back three-pointers for a 20-15 lead. The Britons continued to hold their lead, and led by four points, 30-26, at halftime.

After Albion scored the first basket of the second half, the Comets put 11 of the next 14 points up on the scoreboard to take a 37-32 lead four minutes into the half. The Britons fought back and gained a five-point lead, 49-44, with 8:17 remaining in the game. Olivet came back with a 6-0 run to take a 50-49 lead. The Comets never trailed for the rest of the game.

For the game, the Britons made three more baskets and one more three-pointer than Olivet. The difference in the game was the Comets were 17-of-22 from the free throw line compared to 5-of-12 for Albion.

Ewing led Olivet in scoring for a second straight game, as he netted 19 points. Gardner finished with a double-double, 18 points and game-high 11 rebounds. Way scored a career-high 12 points. Walker recorded five assists and three steals, while not committing a turnover in 33 minutes. As a team, the Comets had only eight miscues.

Jaylen Fordham paced the Britons with 21 points. Kazen scored 17, while Travell Oakes had 10 points and eight rebounds.

The Comets will play their next two games on the road, beginning Saturday with a 3 p.m. contest at Trine (Ind.) University.