Men’s basketball team loses heartbreaker to Earlham, 76-74

OLIVET, Mich. – A three-pointer with 15.3 seconds left pushed the Earlham (Ind.) College past Olivet College in a non-conference men's basketball game today at The Cutler Event Center in Olivet.

THE BASICS
Final Score: Earlham 76, Olivet 74
Location: The Cutler Event Center; Olivet, Mich.
Records: Olivet 2-3 overall, Earlham 2-2 overall

HOW IT HAPPENED

• There were four tied scores and seven lead changes in the first 10 minutes and 18 seconds of the game.
• The Quakers took a 21-19 lead at the 8:04 mark.
• The Comets answered with 15 consecutive points to go up by 12 points, 33-21, with 3:59 left before halftime. Senior Aaron Washington started the run with back-to-back three-pointers.
• Earlham battled back to trim its deficit down to five points, 35-30, before a layup by senior Eric Ewing made the score 37-30 at the break.
• In the second half, the Quakers came back to take 45-44 lead at the 15:51 mark.
• The teams traded baskets until Earlham took its largest lead of the game, 66-60, with 7:22 remaining in the game.
• The Comets scored nine of the next 11 points to take the lead back, 69-68.
• The Quakers made a three-pointer to grab the lead back, 71-69, before senior Zach Walker drained two free throws to even the score.
• Junior Jordan Terry split a pair of tosses from the charity stripe to put Olivet ahead by one, 72-71.
• An Earlham basket with 2:04 left gave it the lead back, 73-72.
• There was no more scoring until there was 39.1 seconds left when junior P.J. Trammell nailed two free throws for a 74-73 lead.
• With 15.3 seconds left, Thomas Sanborn's three-pointer put the Quakers up by two, 76-74.
• Following a timeout, a game-tying basket was missed. An Olivet player grabbed the offensive rebound and his shot was also off the mark.

FOR THE COMETS

• Ewing and Washington shared team-high scoring honors with 14 points apiece.
• Walker and senior Chris Chrzan each had 11 points.
• Senior R.J. Haas pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.
• Walker also had five assists.

FOR THE QUAKERS

• Four players reached double figures in the scoring column, led by Darrell Hutchison and Nick Sands with 18 each.
• Blake Bonin and Kenneth Stalling contributed 12 points apiece.
• Sanborn grabbed a team-best six rebounds.

UP NEXT

Olivet plays an exhibition game tomorrow at Saginaw Valley State University. The Comets are then on the road Wednesday for a game against Manchester (Ind.) University at 7:30 p.m.