ALMA SCOTS MEN'S BASKETBALL FALLS IN A DOUBLE OVERTIME HEARTBREAKER AGAINST OLIVET 75-72
For the second consecutive game, the Alma College Men’s Basketball team lost a hear-wrenching game to an MIAA rival. Four days after losing to perennial power Hope College by a 55-53 margin, the Scots saw Olivet College score the final four points in the second overtime and escape with a 75-72 victory at Cappaert Gymnasium.
The loss, which concluded Alma’s 2008-09 regular season home schedule, dropped the Scots to 3-10 in league play and 5-18 overall, while the Comets are now 6-7 in the MIAA and 11-13 for 2008-09.
In a game that saw the teams tied 14 different times, seven of those deadlocks took place in the first half. The first 20 minutes also saw five lead changes and after Alma Fr. F Tommy Erickson (Escanaba, MI/Escanaba) tied the game at 24-24 with 2:29 remaining, the Comets scored the final six points of the half and went into the lockerroom with a 30-24 advantage.
Expectedly, the teams had similar shooting percentages in the first half, as Olivet was 38% from the field (12 of 32), going three of ten from beyond the three-point line, while Alma finished the half at 37%, on 10 of 27 shooting ( two of ten on three-pointers). The Scots held a 20-19 advantage on the boards, but did commit nine turnovers to five for the Comets.
Alma outscored Albion by a margin of 14-8 coming out of the gate in the second half and tied the game at 38-38 on a three-point field goal by So. G Jordan Redditt (Brighton, MI/Jesuit), with 13:36 remaining in the game. From that point on, neither team could generate a lead of more than six points as Olivet’s 56-50 advantage at the 5:18 mark was the biggest for either squad.
The Comets took a 58-56 lead with just over a minute left in the game, but Alma Sr. F Ryan DeHaan (Rockford, MI/Rockford) was good on a tip-in of a Redditt shot with 33 seconds left to tie the game at 58-58. Olivet was not able to get a shot off after that and the game went into overtime.
Olivet jumped out to a quick lead in the first overtime, scoring five of the first seven points for a 63-60 lead at 3:02 of the extra frame. Redditt deadlocked the game again at 65-65, when he was good on a lay-up assisted by Fr. G Cory Schneider (Carson City, MI/Carson City) with 13 seconds left. An errant three-pointer by Olivet G Andre Evans sent the game into a second extra period.
In a different twist, the second overtime saw the home team jump out to the advantage as they led, 68-65, when Redditt hit a free throw with 2:32 remaining. After the game was tied twice more, Alma’a last lead of the evening was at 72-71 when Redditt drained two free throws with 59 seconds left on the clock. The Comets took the lead for good when Evans hit a jumper 30 seconds later, and after a missed Reddit lay-up with five seconds left, Olivet’s Michael McClary hit two free throws for the 75-72 advantage. A missed Redditt two-point jumper ended the game and the Scots had to swallow another very difficult defeat.
The Scots shot 40% from the field for the game, while Olivet finished at 39% and Alma had the advantage on the boards by a 47-41 margin. The Scots ended the evening with 16 turnovers to just nine for Olivet. The Comets blocked seven Alma shots and had nine steals.
Redditt led the Scots with 27 points and added eight rebounds, while Sr. F Matt Brown (Midland, MI/Midland), playing in his last home game for the Scots, notched a season-high 26 points. DeHaan had seven points and a team-high 11 rebounds, while So. G Kevin Ginther (Harbor Beach, MI/Harbor Beach) had seven rebounds. Schneider finished the evening with seven points and a career-best six assists.
Alma closes out the 2008-09 regular season on Saturday evening, when they travel to Albion College. Tip-off against the Britons is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Posted: Wed, February 18th, 2009 at 10:22PM
