Men’s basketball team rebounds to beat Ohio Dominican, 89-77, in consolation game of Zimmerman Tournament

The Olivet College men's basketball team defeated Ohio Dominican University, 89-77, in the consolation game of the Wittenberg University Charles B. Zimmerman Memorial Tournament inside the Pam Evans Smith Arena in Springfield, Ohio. For his efforts, junior Michael McClary (Bellaire) was named to the all-tournament team.

In the first half, Olivet turned a five-point lead into a 20-point lead, 32-12, in four minutes, 55 seconds off the clock. The teams traded baskets and free throws over the final six minutes of the half, and the Comets led by 19 points, 40-21, at intermission. In the second half, the Panthers cut their deficit to six points, 75-69, with 3:41 left in the game. Back-to-back three-pointers by senior Andy Clark (Lansing/Perry) pushed Olivet's lead back to double figures, where it would stay for the rest of the game.

McClary scored a game-high 32 points on 14-of-19 shooting from the floor and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe and grabbed a team-leading eight rebounds. He also blocked three shots to raise his career total to 99, and move into second-place all-time at Olivet. The record is 109 by De'Andre Pruitt from 2002-06. Joining McClary in double digits were Clark with 16 points and juniors Nathan Jennings (Grant) and Joe Post (Olivet) with 13 apiece. The 13 points for Post was a career-high. Junior Andre Evans (Muskegon/Muskegon Heights) recorded eight assists.

Aaron Gibbs scored 21 points and pulled down 23 rebounds for Ohio Dominican. Terence Burse finished with 13 points, while Adrienne Rodriguez added 10.

The Comets will now turn their attention to Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association play. They host Albion College in their league-opener Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2010. Tip-off at The Cutler Event Center is 7:30 p.m.