Men’s basketball team beaten by Alma, 82-67

OLIVET, Mich. – Olivet College was beaten by Alma College, 82-67, in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) men's basketball game tonight at The Cutler Event Center in Olivet.

Sophomore T.J. Vondette (Hemlock) led all scorers with 23 points and nine rebounds for the Comets. Freshman R.J. Haas (Albion) joined him in double figures with 15 points, while sophomore Eddie Rogers (Saginaw/Carrollton) added 10 points, including 8-of-10 shooting from the charity stripe.

Olivet trailed by 16 points, 39-23, with 3:36 left in the opening half. The Comets went on a 9-2 run to trim the Alma lead down to nine points, 41-32. Malcolm Thurmond made a three-pointer right before the halftime buzzer to push the Scot lead to 44-32 at the break.

In the second half, Olivet was never able to get its deficit down to single digits. The closest the Comets would get was 12 points on three occasions, with the last time being 71-59 at the 9:27 mark.

For the game, Olivet made 22 total baskets and 21 free throws to 36 and seven for Alma. The Scots had a higher shooting percentage, 55.4 percent to 37.3 percent. Alma out-rebounded the Comets, 45-30, but Olivet turned the ball over six less times, 12-6.

Vondette made 8-of-15 baskets, including two 3-pointers, and 5-of-6 free throws. Haas was 6-of-8 from the floor and 3-of-5 from the free throw line. 

Four Scots reached double digits in the scoring column, led by Brandon Krause's 19. Jake Murawske finished with 13, followed by D.J. Beckman and Tyler Edwards with 11 and 10, respectively. Edwards also pulled down a game-high nine rebounds

The Comets (5-18, 3-9 MIAA) travel to play Calvin College Wednesday night at 8 p.m.