Men's basketball team falls to Tri-State, 73-68

The Olivet College men's basketball team fell to Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) foe Tri-State (Ind.) University, 73-68, tonight at Hershey Hall in Angola.

In the first half, the Comets (3-10, 1-2 MIAA) had an eight-point lead, 15-7, at the 12:31 mark when freshman Jon Shurr (Valparaiso, Ind./Boone Grove) made a layup. With 42 seconds left in the half, the Thunder (8-5, 2-1 MIAA) made a three-pointer, which gave them their first lead, 31-30, of the game. The score remained 31-30 at halftime.

Olivet briefly took a pair of one-point leads, 32-31 and 33-32, in the early stage of the second half. Tri-State grabbed the lead for good when Tony Benford knocked down a three-pointer to make the score 35-33 with 17 minutes left in the contest. For the rest of the game, the Thunder only led by more than seven points once.

Freshman Andy Sierminski (Jackson/Lumen Christi) posted his second collegiate double-double, 20 points and 10 rebounds, to lead the Comets. Juniors Brandon Way (Detroit/ Southwestern) and Jeff Cooper (Dowagiac) finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

For Tri-State, Tony Benford had a game-high 26 points along with a team-high six rebounds.

Olivet is back in action Saturday when it hosts Adrian College. Tip-off from the Upton Center is 3 p.m.