Men’s Basketball: Olivet opens season with 73-61 loss to Capital

RICHMOND, Ind. –The University of Olivet men's basketball team started the 2023-24 season with a 73-61 loss to Capital (Ohio) University this afternoon at the Earlham (Ind.) College Melissa Johnson Classic inside the Druley Performance Gymnasium.

• Final Score: Capital 73, Olivet 61
• Location: Druley Performance Gymnasium; Richmond, Indiana
• Records: Olivet 0-1 overall, Capital 2-0 overall

• Capital held the lead for the entire first half, leading by as many as 20 points twice. The second time was at the halftime break, 44-24. In the second half, Capital stretched its lead to 23 points, 49-26, at the 17:11 mark.
• Olivet fought back to close the gap to 14 points, 53-39, before Capital used a 6-0 run to push its lead back to 20 points around the midpoint of the half. Olivet trimmed its deficit down to eight points, 69-61, with two minutes remaining in the game. Capital made four free throws to end the game.

• For the game, Olivet made 24-of-64 baskets, including 3-of-22 from behind the arc.
• Freshman Lee Hardy posted a team-high in points (18) and rebounds (6).
• Senior Noah Wiswary added 13 points and dished out six assists.
• Freshman Nathan Richardson contributed 10 points.

• "We knew today would be a great learning experience about what it means to truly play tough and compete at this level," said Olivet head coach Sam Hargraves. "The first half our team was hardly recognizable from what we see in practice almost every day. The second half, at least from a competitive standpoint, for the most part was much better to watch. We'll see what kind of effort we can put forth tomorrow against another quality opponent."

• Olivet plays Carroll (Wis.) University tomorrow in the second day of the Melissa Johnson Classic. Tip-off is at 12 pm.