OLIVET, Mich. – The Alma College men's basketball team headed south to the town of Olivet for a midweek matchup against the Comets of The University of Olivet. The Scots found themselves in a deadlock of a game that came down to the final shot, but this time were able to walk away with a win, 71-70.
The Comets would open the scoring, though Alma would score the next six points to take the lead coming from Colton Meister and Connor Riley. The Comets then knocked down a three to take the lead before the Scots tied it back up, which would be the story of the game. Both teams would trade the lead in the opening half as neither team found luck creating a lead early on. Olivet would take a six-point lead with less than four minutes left in the half, which would be the largest lead for either team in the first 20 minutes. In the final minutes of the first half, the Scots pieced together a late push and went on a 10-0 scoring run to retake the lead before a late three points from the Comets would send Alma into the half leading 40-39.
Just a minute into the second half, Olivet reclaimed the lead, creating for a dramatic second half. Though the Scots would not let a tough Comet squad start pulling away as Alma would go on an 8-0 run to again retake the lead and create some breathing room with time to play. After multiple trips to the line, Alma would convert on their free throw attempts which helped them create their largest lead of the night, up 11 with eight minutes left to play in regulation. The Comets would not be pushed away though as they would chip away knocking in down to four with five minutes remaining before a Landen Moore-pierce three pushed the lead back to seven. Just a minute later and following an Olivet three, Tyshaun Walker would convert a clutch three to again put the Scots back on top by seven with just over three minutes left to play. Following a timeout, Olivet then held the Scots scoreless for the rest of the game following the Walker make and scored six straight points to bring the game to a one-point differential as time ticked away. A couple late misses from Alma gave the ball to the Comets with six seconds left, enough time for one last effort. In the final ticks, Olivet would get a layup off under the basket that ultimately would not fall and Alma would escape from Cutler Events Center with a hard-fought victory over the Comets.
Riley had a career night as he popped off for a career best of 31 points, leading all scorers on the court. Riley tied for the team-high with four assists as Walker also recorded four assists to go along with his team-high seven rebounds. Xavier Glenn Jr., Riley, and Walker each recorded two steals in the game as well, tying for the game high. The Scots found success down low on the night as they were able to outscore the Comets in the paint by 18 points, 44-26.
Alma will now head back home for a weekend contest inside Art Smith Arena against the Britons of Albion College on Saturday, January 27th. The contest is slated to start at 3:00 PM.
