Men's basketball team upsets Cornerstone, 75-72
The men’s basketball team used a balanced scoring attack to upset non-conference foe Cornerstone University, 75-72, this evening at the Upton Center in Olivet. With the loss, the Golden Eagles, who entered the game ranked fourth in latest NAIA Division II rankings, have a 15-2 record.
The men's basketball team used a balanced scoring attack to upset non-conference foe Cornerstone University, 75-72, this evening at the Upton Center in Olivet. With the loss, the Golden Eagles, who entered the game ranked fourth in latest NAIA Division II rankings, have a 15-2 record. The Fighting Comets end their non-league schedule with a 6-5 mark.
Eleven different Olivet players scored at least one point. Senior Will Lee (Lansing Everett) came off the bench to score a team-high 13 points. He was followed by senior Ronnie Pearson (Holly) and junior Gerald Dozie (Detroit/Southeastern) with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Sophomore Jerame File (Jackson/Hanover-Horton) and junior De'Andre Pruitt (River Rouge) chipped in with nine points apiece.
After a 5-5 tie with 17:17 left in the first half, the Comets went on a 14-6 run to lead by nine eight points at the 11:49 mark. Olivet pushed its lead out to nine points twice later in the half, including 30-21 with less than seven minutes remaining. Cornerstone then used a 12-3 run to knot the score at 33-33 with 52 seconds left before halftime. Pearson quickly answered with a layup to give the Comets a 35-33 lead at the break.
The Eagles scored the first two points of the second half. Following that basket, Olivet took control of the game with a 16-2 run for its biggest lead of the game, 51-37. The closest that Cornerstone would get was one point at the 7:44 mark.
For the game, the Comets shot 44.8 percent (26-of-58) from the floor while the Eagles made 18-of-48 field goals (37.5 percent). However, Cornerstone had a 28-15 edge in free throws made.
John Jonker led the way for the Eagles with a game-high 14 points and 13 rebounds. Andy Bronkema had 13 points and nine rebounds. John Freund and Brandon Voorhees contributed 12 points apiece.
The Comets will next be in action Wednesday, Jan. 5, when it opens Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association play at Albion College. Tip-off from the Kresge Gymnasium is 7:30 p.m.
