Men’s basketball team comes-from-behind to beat Kalamazoo, 68-63

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Olivet College men's basketball team came-from-behind to beat Kalamazoo College, 68-63, in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) contest this afternoon at the Anderson Athletic Center in Kalamazoo.

THE BASICS
Final Score: Olivet 68, Kalamazoo 63
Location: Anderson Athletic Center; Kalamazoo, Mich.
Records: Olivet 12-9 overall, 7-3 MIAA; Kalamazoo 6-15 overall, 1-9 MIAA

HOW IT HAPPENED

• In the first half, the Hornets led by six points, 11-5, six minutes into the game. Over the next two minutes, the Comets responded with a 7-0 run to take a 12-11 lead. After that, there were six lead changes until Olivet led by four points, 21-17, after junior Chase Brocker made a three-pointer at the 9:04 mark.
• Kalamazoo answered with back-to-back baskets from behind the arc to go ahead 23-21. The Comets then made two straight triples – one each for seniors Eldridge Mason and Jalen Adams put Olivet back on top, 27-23.
• The Hornets surged ahead by six points, 34-28, with an 11-1 run. Junior Tracy Edmond drained a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer to cut Olivet's deficit in half, 34-31, at the break.
• The Comets tied the game at 36-36 with 17:25 left in the game. The Hornets came back with a 6-0 run to take a 42-36 lead. Kalamazoo led by six points one more time, 44-38. Olivet fought back to close the gap to a single point, 53-52 and 55-54.
• The Hornets pushed their lead back to four points, 58-54. The Comets answered with a 6-1 run to take their first lead, 60-59, with 3:27 remaining. The teams traded baskets to put Kalamazoo ahead, 63-62. Adams made two free throws to make the score 64-63 with 1:04 showing on the second-half clock.
• Kalamazoo missed a three-pointer with 40 seconds left, and Edmond grabbed the defensive rebound. With the shot clock winding down, Edmond missed a jumper in the lane but pulled down the offensive rebound. He followed with a shot that found the bottom of the net and was fouled. Edmond made the free throw to complete the three-point play and Olivet led 67-63. A final free throw for Adams created the final score.

FOR THE COMETS

• Both teams finished the game with 22 baskets. Olivet made four more three-pointers, 7-3, and one more free throw, 17-16.
• Adams posted a double-double with game-high 23 points to go along with 10 rebounds.
• Edmond scored 20 points, dished out six assists and grabbed seven rebounds.
• Mason finished with 17 points.

FOR THE HORNETS

• Ben Reiter was the leading scorer with 15 points.
• Jimmy Paprocki recorded his own double-double with 11 points and game-high 12 rebounds.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Olivet stays in a three-way tie for first-place in the MIAA standings with a 7-3 record. Trine and Alma sit two games behind the league leaders with 5-5 records, while Calvin and Albion have 4-6 records. The top four teams will advance to the 2018 MIAA Tournament, with the No. 1 seed hosting the semifinals on Friday, Feb. 23, and the championship game on Saturday, Feb. 24.
• Adams now sits second on the single-season scoring list with 548 points. He needs 130 points to pass Michael McClary's 676 points in 2010-11.

UP NEXT

• The Comets host Alma College next Wednesday night. Tip-off at The Cutler Event Center is 7:30 p.m.