OLIVET, MICH. – An early-season clash between the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association and Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference went down to the wire Wednesday, Nov. 19.
The home-standing Olivet College Comets used an 8-2 stretch over the final 1:28 to gain a 61-57 decision over the Manchester University Spartans inside the Cutler Center. Olivet, who moved out to a 20-10 lead midway through the first half, saw MU battle back to tie the game at 36-all with 13 minutes left. The Comets opened the advantage back to nine (48-39), but a 16-5 roll by MU lifted the visitors into a 55-53 edge when junior guard Brady Dolezal (Tipton, Ind.) hit a lay-up with only 1:28 left. OC managed to piece together the deciding cushion due to a three-point basket, a three-of-four effort at the charity stripe and a key put-back of a missed free throw.
Coach Brad Nadborne's squad received a balanced attack with the junior trio of Dolezal and forwards Matt Brown (Hobart, Ind.) and Jarod Schrock (Logansport, Ind.) leading the way. Dolezal, picking up where he left off from 2013-14, dropped in a team-high 18 points on six-of-11 shooting which included a three-point conversion. Brown added 16 points, and Schrock rounded out the double-digit Spartans' scorers with 10. Senior guard Caleb Jackson (New Castle, Ind.) dished out four assists to share the top spot with sophomore guard Chase Casteel (Monrovia, Ind.), and sophomore guard Blake Brouwer (Elkhart, Ind.) proved strong inside with seven boards and a pair of blocked shots.
Olivet was guided by senior guard DeOndre Callahan and junior forward Anthony Easter. Callahan accounted for a team-best 13 points, including the key three-pointer in the late run, while Easter added 11 points and nine rebounds which included the carom and put-back of the missed free throw in the closing moments.
Manchester University opens its 2014-15 home schedule Saturday, Nov. 22. Wright St.-Lake visits Stauffer-Wolfe Arena for a 6 p.m. tip-off.
NOTES: Dolezal's point total marked the 13th time in the 14 games that he's tallied double digits … Brown's night equaled a personal single-game high in points. He also scored 16 last season at home against Franklin College.