Men’s basketball team drops 88-57 decision to Mount St. Joseph

CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Olivet College men's basketball team suffered an 88-57 loss to the host Lions in the first round of the College of Mount St. Joseph Tip-Off Tournament tonight at the Harrington Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Comets will play Thomas More (Ky.) College tomorrow at 1 p.m.

The first seven minutes of the game was a back-and-forth with three tied scores and six lead changes. The Lions took a four-point lead, 16-12, after Andy Countryman made two free throws. Sophomore Blake Krum (Schoolcraft) hit a 3-pointer to cut Olivet's deficit to one point. MSJ canned four shots from the charity stripe to take a 20-15 lead.

The Comets got as close as one point one more time, 20-19, before the Lions went on an 18-8 for their first double digit advantage of the game. MSJ led 44-30 at halftime. The Lions built their lead to as many as 35 points twice in the second half, with the last time being 85-50, with 2:55 left in the game.

Eleven Olivet players added points in the scoring column. Freshman T.J. Vondette (Hemlock) came off the bench to score a team-leading 11 points, while senior Dakotah Ellis (Birch Run) was also a spark off the bench with 10 points. Senior Alvino Ashley (Detroit/Martin Luther King) grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.

MSJ was led by Joel Scudder with a game-high 18 points, including four 3-pointers. Countryman added 14, while Ken Kunkel and Donald Bush had 10 points apiece.

After tomorrow's game, Olivet will travel to play Union (Ky.) College Tuesday evening at 7 p.m.