Men’s basketball team loses heartbreaker to Kalamazoo, 66-65

OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College men's basketball team dropped a heartbreaking 66-65 decision to Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) foe Kalamazoo College this evening at the Cutler Event Center.

• Final Score: Kalamazoo 66, Olivet 65
• Location: Cutler Event Center; Olivet, Michigan
• Records: Olivet 9-13 overall, 5-6 MIAA; Kalamazoo 5-17 overall, 3-8 MIAA

• In the first half, the Hornets led by as many as 10 points, 20-10, at the 10:14 mark. Over the next six minutes, the Comets went on a 15-0 run to go up by five points, 25-20. The Hornets answered with a three-pointer before three straight Olivet baskets made the score 31-23 with 2:28 left until halftime. Kalamazoo put eight of the final 10 points on the scoreboard to trail by two points, 33-31, at the intermission.
• In the first nine minutes of the second, neither team was able to gain a lead of more than three points. Olivet went ahead by five points, 51-46, when freshman Haidyn Garrison made a slam dunk after gathering an offensive rebound. The Hornets answered with an 11-2 run to go up by four points, 57-53.
• The Comets fought back with a 12-2 spurt to go up six points, 65-59, with 29 seconds left. Kalamazoo made a three-pointer to make the score 65-62 with 9.9 ticks on the clock. Olivet had a chance to score points but missed a free throw. With six seconds left, the Hornets made a free throw and intentionally missed the second. Kalamazoo grabbed the offensive rebound before draining the go-ahead three-pointer with 1.4 seconds left.
• For the game, Olivet made 25 baskets compared to 24 for the Hornets, and outrebounded them, 49-33. The difference in the game was the Hornets were 12-of-30 from behind the arc to 8-of-28 for the Comets. Kalamazoo also committed nine less turnovers.

• Senior Noah Wiswary led Olivet with 14 points.
• Garrison and senior Ryan Robinette each scored 13.
• Senior Derrick Johnson grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, while senior Tevin Ali had 11 rebounds.

• "Everyone wants to talk about the plays at the end in games like that," said Olivet head men's basketball coach Sam Hargraves. "But that's not why we lost. It was a combination of other defensive mistakes we made throughout the game, and what has been our biggest weakness all year, un-forced turnovers and just some really bad decisions passing the basketball. As the season winds down, there's more pressure every game if you're in the hunt for something. Fortunately we're in that position, and so is Kalamzoo. They handled the pressure of a big game much much better than we did tonight."

• Josh Decker scored a game-high 28 points. He drained seven three-pointers, including the game-winner.
• Ty Horky contributed 17 points.
• Lukas Broadsword finished with nine points and nine rebounds.

• The Comets play a 3 p.m. game Saturday at Hope College.