Men's basketball team upsets Albion, 62-58

The Olivet College men's basketball team upset Albion College, 62-58, in its Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association opener tonight at the Upton Center. The last time the Comets beat the Britons was on Jan. 30, 2002 (62-61) in Albion.

After a 10-10 tie at the 14:13 mark, Olivet went on a 10-0 run for its biggest first half lead. The Britons closed to within five points with 1:47 left. The Comets also led, 30-23, at halftime.

In the second half, Olivet extended its lead to as many as 13 points at the 15:07 mark. Albion responded by taking its only lead of the second half, 55-54, with 3:39 remaining.

Following a 57-57 tie at the 1:53 mark in the second half, Olivet went ahead 59-57 when sophomore forward De'Andre Pruitt (River Rouge High School) canned two free throws with 37.9 seconds left. Albion forward Travis DePree made his first free throw attempt but fouled Pruitt on the rebound off his missed free throw.

Pruitt nailed both free throw attempts to make the score, 61-58. DePree missed an off-balance three-pointer. Junior Ronnie Pearson (Holly High School) was fouled while attempting to grab the rebound. He sealed the game by making the second free throw with 0.3 seconds remaining.

For the game, Olivet shot 45.3 percent (24-of-53) from the floor and outrebounded Albion, 47-28. On the defensive end, the Comets pulled down 31 rebounds to just 13 by the Britons.

Pruitt led the Comets with his second double-double of the season, 15 points and 13 rebounds. Sophomore forward Steve Johnson (Detroit/Murray Wright High School) provided a spark off the bench by scoring 12 points on six-of-six shooting. Freshman center Andy Storey (Battle Creek/Harper Creek High School) blocked three shots.

Olivet is next in action on Saturday, Jan. 10, when it travels to play Kalamazoo College at 7:30 p.m.