Men’s basketball team comes up short against Grand Valley, 66-58

The Olivet College men's basketball team came up short against Grand Valley State University (GVSU), 66-58, tonight at the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena in Allendale.

In the first half, the Lakers led by as many as six points, 9-3. Olivet fought back and forced ties at 15-15, 17-17 and 20-20. The Comets took their first lead of the game at the 8:35 mark when junior forward Nathan Jennings (Grant) canned a jumper. Olivet stretched its lead to seven points twice before settling for a five-point lead, 33-28, at halftime.

GVSU opened the second half with a 7-0 run to take a 35-33 lead. From that point, there would be eight lead changes and three tied scores, including a final 51-51 tie. The Lakers grabbed the lead for good and extended their lead to as many as 10 points.

Junior Andre Evans (Muskegon/Muskegon Heights) led the Comets with 16 points, including four 3-pointers. Jennings chipped-in with 13 points, while sophomore Jaren Edsall (Whitehall) scored a season-high 10 points. Junior Michael McClary (Bellaire) had nine points and pulled down eight rebounds.

For GVSU, Toreau Brown led all scorers with 19 points. Justin Ringler and Mike Przydzial contributed 18 and 11 points, respectively.

Olivet will return to the court Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 29-30 when it participates in the Wittenberg University/Charles B. Zimmerman Memorial Classic in Springfield, Ohio. The Comets will play the host Tigers in a first round game Tuesday at 7 p.m. The consolation and championship games are set for Wednesday at 2:15 and 7 p.m., respectively.