Men’s Basketball: Olivet upended at Trine, 76-66

ANGOLA, Ind. – The University of Olivet men's basketball team led by 11 points in the first half before Trine (Ind.) University rallied to beat the Comets, 76-66, in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) contest this afternoon inside the MTI Center. Trine is ranked No. 12 in this week's D3hoops.com Top 25 poll.

• Final Score: Trine 76, Olivet 66
• Location: MTI Center; Angola, Indiana
• Records: Olivet 2-11 overall, 0-2 MIAA; Trine 12-1 overall, 2-0 MIAA

• The Comets built an 11-point lead, 25-14, with 9:36 left until halftime. Trine responded with an 11-0 run over the next two minutes and 18 seconds to level the score. After an Olivet timeout, the Thunder continued the spurt to take a 29-25 lead at the 5:29 mark. Twice, the Comets closed the gap to a single point, but Trine had an answer both times to hold onto the lead. The Thunder was ahead 42-36 at the break.
• In the second half, Olivet trimmed its deficit down to two points on two occasions. Following the second time at 50-48, Trine went on a 12-0 run to go up 62-48.  The Comets fought back to make it a seven-point game, 64-57, with 5:46 left in the game. Olivet did not get any closer for the rest of the contest.
• The Comets shot a higher field goal percentage and made more three-pointers than the Thunder. The difference in the game was turnovers, as Olivet had 25 compared to only seven for Trine. The Thunder scored 26 points off the turnovers.

• Senior Ryan Bart and freshman Conner Schipper each scored 12 points.
• Senior Noah Wiswary tallied 10 points, including 3-of-6 shooting from behind the arc. He also had four assists.
• Junior Nolan Finkbeiner and senior Drew Weber contributed nine points apiece.
• Schipper grabbed 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.

• "Today was so good in many ways, and not very good in a couple ways," said Olivet head coach Sam Hargraves. "Trine's main strength defensively is creating turnovers, which is our biggest weakness. Outside of that, I was pleased with our physical effort and fight for the most part. That will still be our main focus moving forward, playing absolutely as hard as we possibly can for 40 minutes."

• The Comets make the short trip to play Albion College next Wednesday, January 10. Tip-off at Kresge Gym is 7:30 p.m.