Men's basketball team beats Heidelberg, 83-74, in season opener

Senior Ronnie Pearson (Holly) scored 18 points to lead the Fighting Comet men's basketball team to an 83-74 victory over Heidelberg (Ohio) College this evening in its season opener at the Westminster (Pa.) College Buzz Ridl Classic. The Comets advance to tomorrow evening's championship game at 8 p.m. against the Westminster, who defeated Hiram (Ohio) College, 131-101, in the other first round game.

In the first half, Olivet jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first 1:37 of the contest. Heidelberg scored the next five points to tie the game, and eventually led by six points on four occasions. The Comets battled back and knotted the score at 25-25 with 3:54 left in the first half. The Student Princes went on a 10-2 run to take a 35-27 lead. At the halftime buzzer, junior De'Andre Clement (Saginaw) banked in a thee-quarter court length shot.

Heidelberg stretched its lead back to nine points early in the second half. The Comets used several spurts to tie the game four different times with the last time being 55-55 at the 9:14 mark. Olivet used a 13-5 run over the next 4:30 to take a 68-60 lead. The Student Princes closed to within three points with 50 seconds remaining. The Comets sealed the victory by making four-of-six free throws

In addition to Pearson, three other Olivet players scored in double figures. Junior De'Andre Pruitt (River Rouge) had 17 points, followed by Clement with 13 and junior Greg Ravy (New Orleans, La./L.B. Landry) with 12. Pruitt also grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds in 33 minutes.

For the game, Olivet shot 50.9 percent (29-of-57) from the floor and 67.7 percent (21-of-31) from the free throw line.

After tomorrow's game, the Comets will travel to play non-league foe Concordia University Tuesday, Nov. 23 at 7:30 p.m.