Men’s basketball team loses to Carthage (Wisc.), 82-63, in first round of D3 Desert Shootout

The Olivet College men's basketball team was defeated by Carthage (Wisc.) College, 82-63, this afternoon in the first round of the D3 Desert Shootout in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Comets will play Bridgewater (Va.) College in tomorrow's consolation game at 11 a.m. PST. Bridgewater fell to Marietta (Ohio) College, 72-69, in today's other first round game.

After allowing the Comets (1-6) to score the first points of the game, Carthage, No. 18 in the latest d3hoops.com Top 25 poll, scored the next five points to take a 5-4 lead at the 16:21 mark. The Red Men stretched their lead to 18 points, 38-20, at halftime. In the second half, Carthage stretched its advantage to as many as 27 points on two occasions with the last time being 73-46 with 5:46 left.

Junior Jeff Cooper (Dowagiac) scored a team-high 12 points. Sophomore Eric McCoy (Charlotte) and junior Brandon Way (Detroit/Southwestern) each contributed nine points, while McCoy grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

Four Red Men scored in double figures. Trey Bowens had 18 points. Brian Schlemm also had 18 points, including 12-of-14 shooting from the free throw line. He also pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.

Following tomorrow's game, the Comets will take a break for Christmas and return to the court Friday and Saturday, Dec. 29-30, when they participate in the Marietta College Shrine Tournament. On Friday evening, Olivet will play Westminster (Pa.) College at 5 p.m. On Saturday, the consolation and championship games are set for 2 and 4 p.m., respectively.