Men’s basketball team comes up just short against Hope, 71-69

The Olivet College men's basketball team came up just against Hope College, 71-69, this evening before 880 fans at The Cutler Event Center in Olivet.

Olivet jumped out to a seven-point lead, 14-7, in the first five minutes of the game. The Flying Dutchmen went on an 18-9 run to take their first lead, 25-23, since the 19:14 mark of the game. After the Comets tied the game at 25-25, Hope responded with a 15-5 scoring spurt for a double digit lead, 40-30. Olivet scored the final six points of the half to trail by just four points, 40-36, at the break.

Early in the second half, the Dutchmen built an 8-point lead, 48-40. Over the next four minutes, the Comets came back and trimmed their deficit down to one point two times. Hope immediately answered and stretched its lead back to seven points, 60-53. Olivet made it a one-point game two more times, including 64-63 with 6:35 left in regulation.

The Dutchmen made four free throws to push their lead back to five points. The teams then traded baskets before a Comet basket made the score 70-67 with 2:34 left. With 38.9 seconds left, junior Joe Post (Olivet) made a steal and layup to make the score 70-69. Olivet fouled a Hope player, and he made just one of two free throws with 14.9 seconds remaining. Following a timeout, Hope committed a foul and the Comets had a chance to tie the game but missed both free throws. After the second miss, Post grabbed the offensive rebound and his last-second shot was off the mark.

Junior Michael McClary (Bellaire) posted his fourth straight double-double, 27 points and 11 rebounds, to lead Olivet. It was also his seventh double-double in MIAA play. Senior Andy Clark (Lansing/Perry) and sophomore Jaren Edsall (Whitehall) each scored eight points. Post dished out a team-high six assists.

Hope's Peter Bunn led all scorers with 31 points. Chris Nelis joined him in double figures with 13 points. Will Bowser grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.

The Comets will travel to Angola, Ind., to play Trine (Ind.) University next Wednesday, Feb. 10. Tip-off at Hershey Hall is 7:30 p.m.

NOTE: With his 27 points, McClary moved into 11th-place on the Olivet all-time scoring list with 1,042 points. He needs 13 points to move into 10th-place.