Men’s Basketball: Olivet defeats Defiance, 91-60, in home-opener

OLIVET, Mich. – Paced by four double figure scorers, The University of Olivet men's basketball team defeated Defiance (Ohio) College, 91-60, in its home-opener tonight at the Cutler Event Center.

• Final Score: Olivet 91, Defiance 60
• Location: Cutler Event Center; Olivet, Michigan
• Records: Olivet 1-2 overall, Defiance 1-2 overall

• The Comets got off to a fast start behind two dunks by freshman Lee Hardy. Olivet pushed its lead to eight points, 12-4, before the Yellow Jackets went on an 8-0 run to level the score. The teams traded baskets to create a 14-14 tie. Over the next six minutes, the Comets put 18 unanswered points on the scoreboard go up 32-14 at the 7:16 mark. Defiance responded with a 13-0 spurt to cut their deficit down to five points, 32-27, with 3:51 left until halftime. Olivet went up 10 points twice. After the last time, the Yellow Jackets scored the last five points of the half to trail, 39-34, at the intermission.
• The Comets outscored Defiance, 28-9, in the first seven minutes of the second half to push their lead to 24 points, 67-43. The Yellow Jackets came back to close the gap to 23 points on two occasions. Following the second time at 72-49, Olivet scored nine straight points to gain a 32-point margin, 81-49, with 7:03 remaining in the contest. Late in the game, the Comets had their largest lead of the game, 91-58.
• For the game, Olivet posted a 55.4 field goal percentage (36-of-65), including 56.3 percent (18-of-32) in the second half. Defiance shot 36.7 percent (22-of-60). The Comets committed seven less turnovers, 9 to 16, and had 25 assists to 17 for the Yellow Jackets.

• Senior Ryan Bart led all players with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including three triples.
• Senior Noah Wiswary scored 17 points and recorded 10 assists, while not committing a turnover in 27 minutes.
• Hardy tallied 16 points and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.
• Freshman Conner Schipper came off the bench to register 10 points and six rebounds.

• "We had a nice overall effort tonight," said Olivet head coach Sam Hargraves. "I was very pleased with our competitiveness and intensity coming out in the second half after having only a five-point lead at halftime. Sometimes in the past, we'll get out to a slow start after halftime, but tonight we had our foot down on the gas pedal. I am hoping this effort can carry over to our game on Sunday against a solid Penn State Altoona team."

• The Comets face Penn State Altoona College Sunday at the Cutler Event Center. Game time is 3 pm.