Men’s basketball team comes-from-behind to nip Alma, 90-87, on Senior Day

OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College men's basketball team ended the regular season portion of its Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) schedule with a thrilling, come-from-behind 90-87 victory over Alma College this afternoon on Senior Day at the Cutler Event Center.

Final Score: Olivet 90, Alma 87
Location: Cutler Event Center; Olivet, Michigan
Records: Alma 5-17 overall, 4-9 MIAA; Olivet 6-18 overall, 3-10 MIAA

• The Scots built a 12-point lead, 34-22, at the 7:47 mark of the first half. The Comets chipped away at their deficit and eventually took their first lead, 43-41, with 2:06 left until halftime. Alma tied the game before Olivet went on a 7-0 run to go up 50-43. Two Scot free throws in the final second of the half made the score 50-45 at the intermission.
• Alma opened the second half by scoring 21 of the first 25 points in the first nine minutes and 14 seconds to gain a 12-point lead, 66-54. Like the first half, the Comets battled back. Olivet made a basket to make the score 77-71, at the 4:49 mark.
• After calling a timeout, Alma's head coach was whistled for a technical foul. Junior Noah Wiswary made the two free throws. A layup by senior Eddie Thigpen followed by a three-pointer by senior Derrick Johnson put the Comets ahead, 78-77.
• The Scots re-gained the lead on a pair of free throws. Back-to-back baskets helped Olivet go back on top by three points, 82-79, with 2:43 left. Alma made another basket to make it a one-point game but would not get any closer. Wiswary drained two free throws to push the Comets' lead to six points, 87-81, with 1:03 remaining.
• The Scots cut their deficit in half with a three-pointer. Freshman Lorris Upshaw split two tosses from the charity stripe before another Alma trey closed the gap to a single point. Two free throws by junior Jameson Pavelka with 1.5 seconds left extended the lead back to three points. A last-second three-pointer for Alma was off the mark.

• Olivet had five players reach double figures in the scoring column.
• Playing in his last home, senior Chris Martin led all players with 26 points on 12-of-21 shooting. He also grabbed a team-best eight rebounds.
• Upshaw came off the bench to score 18 points.
• Johnson and Thigpen each netted 14 points.
• Wiswary had 11 points to go along with four assists.

• "We just found a way to pull it out a huge win today," said Olivet head coach Sam Hargraves. "It was such a roller coaster of a game, it seemed like it was just one run after another. I was worried with how we started the 2nd half when we just couldn't score. I thought we might get into too deep of a whole to dig out of. But give credit to our guys for sticking with it and finding a way to get the win."

• Brandon Rake posted a double-double, 22 points and 13 rebounds, before fouling out of the game.
• Landon Moore-Pierce also scored 22 points.
• Nate Deyman and Cole Kleiver had 11 and 10 points, respectively.

• The Comets will play in a quarterfinal game of the 2022 MIAA Tournament next Tuesday, February 22. Seeds, game locations and start times will be announced by the MIAA office later this weekend.