Men’s basketball team tripped up at Adrian, 80-67

ADRIAN, Mich. – The Olivet College men's basketball team was on the losing end of an 80-67 score to Adrian College tonight at the Merillat Sports & Fitness Center.

Final Score: Adrian 80, Olivet 67
Location: Merillat Sports & Fitness Center; Adrian, Michigan
Records: Adrian 1-8 overall, Olivet 0-7 overall

• After the Bulldogs led 8-4, the Comets scored four the next five points to level the score at 9-9. Adrian answered with a 9-2 run for an 18-11 advantage with 10:21 left until halftime. Olivet countered with seven straight points to tie the game at 18-18.
• From there, the Bulldogs went on a 13-5 scoring spurt over the next four and one-half minutes to push their lead to eight points. The Comets battled back to trim their deficit down to two points before an Adrian basket right before the halftime buzzer made the score 36-32 at the break.
• Olivet opened the second half with a 7-2 run to take its first lead of the game. The Bulldogs rallied with 10 unanswered points for a 48-39 lead with 15 minutes remaining in the game. The Comets were able to close the gap to three points on three occasions, with the last time being 62-59.
• One difference in the game was the Bulldogs were able to score 25 points off 15 Olivet turnovers compared to the Comets scoring only eight points off 12 Adrian turnovers.

• Junior Ryan Robinette scored 16 points to lead Olivet.
• Senior Eddie Thigpen chipped-in with 14 points.
• Senior Chris Martin added 13 points. He also grabbed a team-best seven rebounds.

• Victor Sheffey was one of four Bulldogs to reach double figures in the scoring column, as he had a game-high 19 points. He was a perfect 12-of-12 from the free throw line.
• Kendall Bellamy contributed 16 points.
• Robert Warrick and Connor Pelham each had 14.
• Pelham pulled down a game-best nine rebounds.

• "I was very worried about tonight's game right after our game got over last Saturday at Trine," said Olivet head coach Sam Hargraves. "Our guys played with the weight of the world on their shoulders. To Adrian's credit, they played to win.
• "We have got a long way to go, to learn how to win. It takes time, and it takes going through games like tonight. We've got some guys that to some extent, thought this was going to be easy. Becoming a winning program is rarely, if ever, easy."

• The Comets are on the road Saturday night to play Albion College. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Kresge Gymnasium.