Men’s Basketball: Olivet loses overtime thriller to Adrian, 74-69

OLIVET, Mich. – The University of Olivet men's basketball team was on the losing end of 74-69 overtime battle against Adrian College and in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) contest this evening inside the Cutler Event Center.

• Final Score: Adrian 74, Olivet 69 (OT)
• Location: Cutler Event Center; Olivet, Michigan
• Records: Olivet 2-18 overall, 0-9 MIAA; Adrian 6-14 overall, 4-5 MIAA

• In the first half, Adrian led by six points, 12-6. Olivet answered with eight straight points to go ahead 14-12. The Bulldogs answered with a 15-5 run to take their largest lead of the half, 27-19, with 3:45 showing on the clock. The Comets fought back to trim their deficit in half, 29-25, before two Adrian free throws made the score 31-25 at the break.
• To start the second half, Olivet used a 12-2 run to go up four points, 37-33. The Comets extended their lead to nine points, 50-41, at the 8:54 mark. Olivet maintained its advantage and led by eight points, 62-54, with under a minute left in regulation. Adrian scored the final eight points to force the overtime period. The last two points were scored on a tip-in basket as the buzzer sounded. The Bulldogs made the first basket of the extra period and did not trail for the rest of it.

• Freshman Conner Schipper posted a triple-double with 11 points, 25 rebounds and 10 blocks to lead Olivet.
• Senior Noah Wiswary scored a team-high 17 points. He also dished out a game-best six assists.
• Senior Ryan Bart netted 10 points.

• Schipper's 10 blocks and 25 rebounds are the most by an Olivet player since the 2002-03 season.
• The 25 rebounds are second-most by an NCAA Division III men's basketball player this season, and the 10 blocks are the third-most.
• The triple-double is the 14th by an NCAA Division III player this season. It is the fifth with points, rebounds and blocks as the three categories.
• Schipper has 59 blocks this season and needs only seven to break the single-season record.

• "Once again we're very proud of our fight," said Olivet head coach Sam Hargraves. "These guys are resilient. They keep fighting back and fighting back. All we've talked about is going back to work in practice and trying to improve. Again, this is a tough loss to take, but we can either get frustrated and give up, or just keep on working. My only goal is for them to keep working to improve."

• Olivet wraps-up its four-game homestand Saturday against Albion College. Tip-off is at 3 p.m.