Men’s basketball team hangs on to beat Adrian, 66-63

The Olivet College men's basketball team built a 14-point lead midway through the second half and hung on to beat Adrian College, 66-63, tonight at the Merillat Center in Adrian. With the win, Olivet evens its overall record to 9-9 and is tied for third in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic (MIAA) standings with a 4-3 record.

Adrian scored the first three points of the game on a 3-pointer by Ryan Sigler. The Comets answered with back-to-back layups by junior Joel Kerns (North Judson, Ind.), and they did not trail for the rest of the game. Olivet extended its lead to 12 points twice in the first half with the last time being, 26-14, at the 3:38 mark when junior Blake Brannick (Jackson/Lumen Christi) made a layup. The Comets took an eight-point lead, 28-20, into the locker rooms.

In the second half, Olivet's 14-point lead (49-35) came exactly with 10 minutes showing on the clock. The Bulldogs chipped away at their deficit and clawed their way back to trail by just one point twice, including 55-54, at the 4:25 mark. The Comets pushed their lead back to seven points before Adrian missed two 3-pointers in the final 10 seconds of regulation.

Sophomore Michael McClary (Bellaire) paced Olivet with 17 points. Sophomore Andre Evans (Muskegon/Muskegon Heights) and senior Brandon McClary (Bellaire) each scored 14 points. Brandon McClary had 12 rebounds to go along with his 14 points for his sixth double-double of the season. He also dished out a team-leading four assists.

The Bulldogs were led by Desmond Young, who scored 17 points. Michael Staley and Matt Wayne added 16 and 13 points, respectively. Staley topped the team with six rebounds.

Olivet begins the second half of its MIAA schedule Saturday night when it plays Hope College. Tip-off from the DeVos Fieldhouse in Holland is 7:30 p.m.