Men’s basketball team defeated by Davenport, 82-72

The Olivet College men's basketball team was defeated by Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference foe Davenport University, 82-72, tonight at the DU Student Center in Grand Rapids.

In the first half, the Comets built a 10-point lead, 21-11, when senior Blake Brannick (Jackson/Lumen Christi) drained a three-pointer at the 9:21 mark. The Panthers answered with a 16-0 run to take a 27-21 lead. They went on to lead by as many as 11 points before settling for a 38-29 lead at halftime.

With 11:32 left in the game, Olivet trimmed its deficit to four points, 50-46, after junior Michael McClary (Bellaire) scored six straight points. James Nelson responded with seven consecutive points for Davenport, which made the score, 57-46. Later in the half, the Comets would get as close as three points twice with the last time being 65-62. In the final five minutes, the Panthers canned 9-of-12 free throws to seal their victory.

McClary led all scorers with 26 points on 11-of-17 shooting from the floor and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe. He also grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. Junior Nathan Jennings (Grant) chipped in with 11 points. Junior Andre Evans (Muskegon/Muskegon Heights) added 10 points and five assists.

For Davenport, Nelson had a team-leading 24 points, while Nathan Cox was next with 18. David Thompson finished with 12 points.

Olivet hosts Spring Arbor University Saturday afternoon. Tip-off at The Cutler Event Center is 3 p.m.