Men’s basketball team wins thriller at Alma, 80-79

ALMA, Mich. – The Olivet College men's basketball team hung on to win a thrilling game over Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) foe Alma College, 80-79, this evening at Art Smith Arena.

Final Score: Olivet 80, Alma 79
Location: Art Smith Arena; Alma, Michigan
Records: Alma 2-10 overall, 0-5 MIAA; Olivet 2-14 overall, 1-4 MIAA

• The Comets led by eight points, 12-4, at the 15:35 mark of the first half. The Scots answered with 14-4 run to take their first lead of the game, 18-16. Alma pushed its lead to five points on two occasions, with the last time being 29-24, with 5:37 left before halftime.
• Olivet responded with 10 straight points in a span of just under four minutes for its own five-point lead, 34-29. Alma then put the final seven points on the scoreboard in the first half to go up 36-34 at the intermission.
• The Comets made three straight three-pointers to go along with a free throw to give them a 44-36 lead in the first 88 seconds of the second half. Olivet maintained the advantage until Alma tied the game at 47-47 at the 14:34 mark.
• The teams traded points, resulting in three lead changes. Following a 55-55 deadlock, the Comets scored 17 of the next 25 points to gain the largest lead for either team, 72-63, with 3:58 remaining in the game. The Scots fought back with eight straight points to close the gap to a point.
• Olivet extended its lead back to six points twice, including 80-74, with 40 seconds left. Alma cut its deficit back to a single point and two times missed go-ahead shots in the last 10 seconds of the game.

• Senior Eddie Thigpen posted his first double-double of the season with a team-high 24 points and game-high 10 rebounds.
• Senior Delbert Redfield contributed a career-high 18 points.
• Senior Chris Martin joined them in double figures with 12 points.

• Cole Kleiver led all scorers with 26 points, with half coming at the free throw line.
• Brandon Rake tallied 18 points.
• Matt Lark and Isaiah Williamson finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
• Kleiver, Rake and Gabe Bourdeau each grabbed nine rebounds.

• "It always feels good to get a win," said Olivet head coach Sam Hargraves. "Would have been nice if we did not have to make it so entertaining the last couple minutes with missed free throws and some defensive breakdowns. But overall, we felt we did some good things tonight to build off of."

• Olivet hosts Calvin University Saturday for its regular-season finale. Tip-off from inside the Cutler Event Center is 3 p.m.