Men’s basketball team falls to Hope by three points, 71-68

OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College men's basketball team fell to Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) rival Hope College, 71-68, today at the Cutler Event Center.

• Final Score: Hope 71, Olivet 68
• Location: Cutler Event Center; Olivet, Michigan
• Records: Olivet 5-8 overall, 1-1 MIAA; Hope 7-6 overall, 1-1 MIAA

• In the first half, the Flying Dutchmen led by as many as 12 points, 35-23, at the 4:35 mark. The Comets drained back-to-back-to-back three-pointers – two by senior Derrick Johnson and one by sophomore Mason Wichman – to close the gap to three points. After Hope made a jump shot to go back up five, senior Tevin Ali hit two free throws to make the score 37-34 with 2:10 left until halftime. A tip-in basket for the Flying Dutchmen made the score 39-34 at the break.
• Olivet started the second half strong, and came back to level the score twice, 42-42 and 44-44. The Comets then seized a 47-44 lead after sophomore Lorris Upshaw split two free throws and Ali made two free throws. Hope answered with six straight points to go up 50-47. The Flying Dutch increased their lead to seven points, 58-51, at the 7:53 mark. Olivet fought back with a 12-5 run to even the score at 63-63 with 5:23 left.
• The teams traded baskets to create one more tied score at 65-65. Hope scored five of the next six points to go up by five points, 71-66, with just over minute remaining in the game. Johnson was fouled on a three-point attempt, and made two of the free throws, with 49.4 seconds showing on the clock. The Flying Dutchmen missed a shot at the other end of the court. Following an Olivet timeout, a last-second three for the Comets was off the mark.
• The final statistics were as close as the final score. The Comets made 24 baskets compared to 26 for Hope. But Olivet made two three-pointers, 8 to 6. The Flying Dutchmen connected on 13 free throws to 12 for the Comets. Both teams committed only nine turnovers, and Hope had a slight 43-40 edge in rebounds.

• Johnson scored a team-leading 16 points, with four triples.
• Upshaw netted 15 points.
• Ali posted a double-double, scoring 14 points and grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds.

• "I thought we were really locked in defensively and focused most of the game," said Olivet head men's basketball coach Sam Hargraves. "Hope had to make some tough shots at times. We didn't breakdown and give them many easy looks too often. I thought if we could have just made more of the open / good looks we got it might of made the difference. You have to make the open ones, because it's not easy to get many open ones. We definitely gained confidence from this game, which is so influential every time, as we continue to build this program."

• Four starters scored in double digits.
• Evan Thomas led all players with 17 points.
• Gabe Quillan was next with 16 points to go along with a team-leading nine rebounds.
• Clayton Dykhouse and Marcus Wourman tallied 13 and 11 points, respectively.

• The Comets are on the road next Wednesday, January 11, when they play Trine (Ind.) University. Tip-off from the MTI Center in Angola, Indiana, is 7:30 p.m.