Men’s basketball team holds off Calvin, 85-81

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Olivet College men's basketball team closed out the first half of its Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) schedule with a hard-fought 85-81 win over Calvin College tonight at the Van Noord Arena in Grand Rapids. The Comets now have a 10-8 overall record and are tied for first-place in the MIAA standings with a 6-1 mark.

Final Score: Olivet 85, Calvin 81
Location: Van Noord Arena; Grand Rapids, Mich.
Records: Calvin 8-9 overall, 3-3 MIAA; Olivet 9-8 overall, 5-1 MIAA

• The Knights took a 6-0 lead. The Comets countered with a 13-2 run for a 13-8 lead at the 15:19 mark. Calvin cut its deficit to four points, 16-12, before Olivet went on a 7-0 Olivet run to gain its first double digit lead of the half. The Comets extended their lead to as many as 13 points. The Knights closed the gap to six points twice, with the final time being 38-32 at halftime.
• Calvin opened the second half with a 16-10 run to level the score at 48-48. Olivet took the lead back on a slam dunk by junior Trevor Manuel at the 14:18 mark. The Comets did not relinquish their lead for the rest of the game. In the final 45 seconds, the Knights closed the gap to two points on two occasions. Olivet sealed the win by making 6-of-6 free throws.

• For the game, Olivet posted a 53.2 field goal percentage after making 25-of-47 baskets. The Comets drained 30-of-43 free throws.
• Senior Tracy Edmond led the way with 27 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor and 11-of-18 shooting from the charity stripe.
• Manuel finished with 23 points and eight rebounds.
• Senior Colin Jones added 19 points.

• Derrick DeVries and Thad Shymanski each scored 17 points.
• Jason Walter added 12 points.
• DeVries and Carson Muhlenberg each grabbed eight rebounds.

• Other MIAA scores tonight were Kalamazoo College over Adrian College, 67-62; Trine (Ind.) University over Alma College, 87-86; and Hope College over Albion College, 77-70.
• After the first half of the league schedule, Trine and Olivet sit on top of the standings with matching 6-1 records. Albion is a game behind at 5-2. Hope is fourth at 4-3. Alma and Calvin are tied at 3-4.
• The last time Olivet beat Calvin on its home court was just over 10 years ago on Jan. 21, 2009. The final score of that game was 60-57.
• The Comets have won six straight MIAA games for only the second time in school history. The other time was 1972.

• The Comets seek revenge on Saturday when Albion College visits the Cutler Athletic Complex for a 7:30 p.m. The Britons are the only MIAA team to beat Olivet this season.