Men’s basketball team falls to Anderson, 88-81

OLIVET, Mich. – In a back-and-forth game, the Olivet College men's basketball team fell to Anderson (Ind.) University, 88-81, in a non-conference tilt this afternoon at the Cutler Event Center in Olivet. The game featured 11 tied scores and 10 lead changes.

Final Score: Anderson (Ind.) 88, Olivet 81
Location: Cutler Event Center; Olivet, Michigan
Records: Anderson 5-5 overall, Olivet 1-7 overall

• The Ravens made five of their first six baskets and 3-of-4 free throws to build a 13-point lead, 15-2, at the 15:53 mark of the opening half. The Comets battled back and eventually tied the game at 35-35 at the 3:05 mark. Olivet took its first lead, 38-37, with 2:41 remaining until halftime when junior Jared Long drained 3-of-4 free throws. Two of the makes were after the Anderson coach was called for a technical foul.
• The Ravens took the lead back on two free throws before a jump shot by freshman Britton Angell put the Comets ahead. An Anderson free throw leveled the score at 40-40. Two Chris Martin two layups were sandwiched around a Raven basket gave Olivet a 44-42 lead at halftime.
• The start of the second half saw four tied scores and three lead changes. After the Ravens went ahead 57-54 at the 13:50 mark, the Comets used an 8-0 run to gain their largest lead of the game, 62-57. Anderson answered with 10 straight points for its own five-point advantage, 67-62. Olivet netted five of the next six points to close the gap to a single point, 68-67, with 7:07 left. The Comets did not get any closer for the rest of the game.
• For the game, Olivet made one more basket. The Ravens had three more baskets from the behind the arc and were 23-of-33 at the free throw line compared to 17-of-26 for the Comets. Olivet out-rebounded Anderson, 48-26, including a 16-4 edge on the offensive glass.

• Junior Shawn Pardee scored a team-high 26 points.
• Martin came off the bench to score 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor.
• Long tallied 12 points.
• Junior Colin Carter grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds.

• Maurice Knight led all scorers with 34 points. He made 11-of-21 baskets, including four from behind the arc, and 8-of-12 free throws.
• Malik Laffoon added 14 points and five rebounds.
• Michael Rogers chipped-in 10 points.

• Olivet is off until next Friday and Saturday, Dec. 27-28, when it participates in the Hope College/Russ DeVette Holiday Classic at the DeVos Fieldhouse in Holland. On Friday, the Comets play Illinois Tech at 5 p.m., and on Saturday, they face Westminster (Pa.) College at 1 p.m.