Men’s Basketball: Olivet stung by Kalamazoo at buzzer, 78-75

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The University of Olivet men's basketball team lost on a buzzer-beating three-pointer to Kalamazoo College, 78-75, in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) contest tonight at the Anderson Athletic Center.

• Final Score: Kalamazoo 78, Olivet 75
• Location: Anderson Athletic Center; Kalamazoo, Michigan
• Records: Olivet 2-14 overall, 0-5 MIAA; Kalamazoo 8-8 overall, 2-3 MIAA

• In the first half, the Hornets built a nine-point lead on two occasions. After the second time at 20-11, the Comets went on a 13-2 run to take a 24-22 lead. Olivet extended its lead to five points, 30-25, after junior Nolan Finkbeiner made a three-pointer with 3:23 left until halftime. Kalamazoo scored the final nine points of the half to lead 34-30 at the break.
• The Hornets stretched their lead to as many 12 points, 52-40, at the 12:37 mark of the second half. The Comets chipped away at their deficit and eventually took a 65-63 lead with 4:50 remaining in the contest. The teams traded points for the next four minutes until Kalamazoo gained a three-point lead, 75-72, with just under a minute left.
• Senior Ryan Bart drained two free throws to make the score 75-74. Freshman Nathan Richardson stole the inbounds pass and was fouled. He split the two free throws to tie the game at 75-75 with 39 seconds showing on the clock. Kalamazoo missed two shots before senior Drew Weber grabbed a defensive rebound after the second miss. After a timeout, Olivet missed the go-ahead layup. Kalamazoo called a timeout with two ticks. The Hornets quickly inbounded the ball and nailed the winning three-pointer.
• For the game, both teams made 13 three-pointers, but the Comets made two more baskets, 26 to 23. Kalamazoo had a 47-39 edge in rebounding and made 19-of-30 free throws to 10-of-12 for Olivet at the buzzer.

• Bart came off the bench to score 19 points.
• Senior Noah Wiswary tallied 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
• Richardson finished with 13 points and six rebounds.
• Freshman Conner Schipper blocked five shots to raise his season total to 43 which ranks fourth in a season at Olivet.

• "Everyone will talk about the last shot, and we made a big mistake on that play," said Olivet head coach Sam Hargraves. "But we lost the game because Kalamazoo was much tougher rebounding the basketball. There hasn't been many, if any, games where we've not had at least one glaring problem. Bad shooting, turnovers, losing rebounding battle, missing free throws, giving up considerably more free throws. Until we learn how to play a complete game, it will keep coming down to the end where anything can happen."

• Olivet travels to play Adrian College Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.