OLIVET, Mich. – Junior Nathan Jennings (Grant) hit a buzzer beater to lift the Olivet College men's basketball team to a 53-51 win over Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) rival Adrian College this afternoon at The Cutler Event Center in Olivet.
In the first half, the Comets raced out to a 10-2 lead behind eight points from senior Andre Evans (Muskegon/Muskegon Heights) and jumper from Jennings. The Bulldogs fought back and took their first lead of the game, 20-19, with 3:24 left before halftime. Olivet regained a pair of two-point leads, 22-20 and 24-22. Adrian scored the final four points of the half to take a 26-24 lead into the locker rooms.
In the second half, the Bulldogs put the first four points on the scoreboard for either team's largest lead of the half. After a couple tied scores at 36-36 and 38-38, Adrian appeared to take control and led by five points, 43-38, with 9:38 remaining. The Comets did not give up and fought back to tie the game three more times.
Olivet took a 51-49 lead with 2:47 left after senior Joe Post (Olivet) split a pair of tosses from the charity stripe. The Bulldogs tied the game at 51-51 with 27.1 seconds left when Wesley Reed made two free throws. After a Comet timeout, Adrian set-up a half court defense and Olivet brought up the ball to its half of the court. In the closing seconds, Evans passed the ball to Jennings at the top of the key, who took a shot and swished it through the net for the game-winner.
Evans led the Comets with the Comets with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including 3-of-8 from behind the arc. Jennings added seven points. Senior Michael McClary (Bellaire) posted his second straight double-double, fifth of the season and 43rd of his career with 11 points and game-high 13 rebounds. With his 13 field goal attempts, McClary is now the career leader at Olivet with 1,239.
Adrian had a balanced scoring attack, as Sean Gallant led the way with 13. Dennis Mason contributed 10, while Reed and Cody Barnes each had seven.
The Comets (6-7, 1-1 MIAA) will travel to play Calvin College next Wednesday, Jan. 12. Game time at the Van Noord Arena is 7:30 p.m.