Men’s basketball team upended at Eastern Michigan, 94-65

YPSILANTI, Mich. – The Olivet College men's basketball team was upended by Eastern Michigan University, 94-65, today at the Convocation Center in Ypsilanti.

Final Score: Eastern Michigan 94, Olivet 65
Location: Convocation Center; Ypsilanti, Michigan
Records: Eastern Michigan 2-2 overall, Olivet 0-2 overall

• The Comets led by five points, 9-4, after senior Eddie Thigpen drained a three-pointer at the 16:43 mark. The Eagles responded with a 5-0 run to even the score before a triple by senior Delbert Redfield put Olivet back on top.
• EMU took its first lead in the game, 13-12, but a Redfield trey handed the lead quickly back to the Comets. After the under 12 media timeout, the Eagles netted four straight points for a 17-15 advantage. Olivet tied the game before back-to-back three-pointers and a jumper for EMU made the score 25-17 with 8:53 left until halftime.
• The Comets closed the gap to six points, 25-19, until another three-pointer for the Eagles gave them a double digit lead for the first time, 29-19. Two free throws by Thigpen and a triple by sophomore Noah Wiswary cut Olivet's deficit in half at the 6:43 mark.
• From there, the Eagles ended the half on a 23-3 run to take a 52-27 lead into the locker rooms. In the opening 20 minutes of action, the Comets made 8-of-19 baskets, with half coming from three-point range compared to EMU making 18-of-35 baskets, including 10-of-20 shooting from three-point territory.
• The Eagles led by as many as 43 points, 94-51, in the second half. Olivet scored the final 14 points of the game.

• Thigpen and sophomore Britton Angell topped Olivet with 13 points apiece.
• Wiswary and senior Tishaun Cooper each had nine points.
• Angell grabbed a team-best eight rebounds.
• Five players recorded two assists.
• For the game, Olivet drained 23-of-50 baskets, including 11 triples, and 8-of-9 free throws.

• Yeikson Montero led all scorers with 25 points.
• Bryce McBridge was next with 17 points.
• Miles Gibson and James Love III finished with seven rebounds apiece.

• "The final score does not always indicate the story of the game," said Olivet head men's basketball coach Sam Hargarves. "Against CMU, the score was probably too kind since we played so bad. Today was very, very different. We obviously have much to improve on but our team mindset today was much better.
• "Ferris will be playing the same team back-to-back when they get to conference play, so they wanted to practice that format. We agreed to that as well since our game with Rochester on December 30 had to be canceled. Again, this season we are just happy and thankful to be able to play basketball."

• Question 1: "Olivet played a lot better today than you did against Central Michigan. What was the difference for today?"
  • Eddie Thigpen – "We came out with more aggression. We did not lay down from the jump. We still have lots to work on like ball control, turnovers, etc. but as a whole we played harder and tougher."
  • Dane Vos – "We played a lot harder and tougher than we did against Central Michigan. Our work rebounding the ball made a huge difference. We also moved the ball around a lot better today."
• Question 2: "What did you do yourself well in today's game?"
  • Eddie Thigpen – "I came out with an open mind and was not thinking as much. I know my energy means a lot to our program."
  • Dane Vos – "I worked hard especially crashing the offensive and defensive glass. I also ran the floor well to help get out ahead on our fast breaks and also to stop their fast breaks."
• Question 3: "What can you do better in future games?"
  • Eddie Thigpen – "I need to be able to run the floor more and continue to play with energy throughout. I sometimes go through mental lapses or jog up the floor, but I have to work hard for the entire game."
  • Dane Vos – "We have to limit our turnovers in future games. When we were able to play 5 vs. 5 defense, they struggled to score."
• Question 4: "Are you looking forward to back-to-back games against Ferris State?"
  • Eddie Thigpen – "Definitely looking forward to those games. I look at every game as a blessing, and a challenge more than anything. Every game is an opportunity for us to grow closer as a unit and get better."
  • Dane Vos – "I'm looking forward to the games against Ferris, especially in this kind of a season that any chance to play is a blessing. It's going to be a little weird playing them in back-to-back games but I'm excited for the opportunity."

• Olivet continues its schedule Wednesday with the first of two games at Ferris State University. Game time is 7 p.m. The second game is Thursday afternoon at 5 p.m. Please remember to follow Olivet's social media pages for the latest schedule updates.