SPRING ARBOR, MI -- Spring Arbor University remains
undefeated on Bockwitz Court after beating Olivet College 72-61 on Saturday
afternoon. The trio of Willie Pickvet,
DJ Baisden, and Chris Bellamy came up with huge performances for Spring Arbor
(7-6, 2-1) and the defensive efforts of Matt Howe and Matt Carden held Olivet
College (5-4, 0-0) and standout senior Michael McClary to get the win.
McClary came into the contest averaging nearly a
double-double per game at 26.1 ppg and 9.7 rpg and was held to 23 points and 8
rebounds but was continually fed the ball on the low post and Howe and Carden
came up with stop after stop to frustrate the Comets big man.
With the game still in doubt with 9:25 to go in the contest,
Willie Pickvet grabbed an offensive rebound off of a Matt Carden missed free
throw and tossed a pass to Baisden who nailed a huge 3 pointer to lift Spring
Arbor's lead to 8 points and brought the crowd to its feet.
Pickvet finished the game with 25 points and 10 rebounds
despite playing most of the game with a broken nose. DJ Baisden added 18 points while going 6-6
from the free throw line. Baisden
started the game ranked the fourth best free throw shooter in the NAIA and
leads the Cougars who are the number one free throw shooting team in the
country at 81% from the line. Chris
Bellamy chipped in with his first double-double of his career with 14 points
and 11 rebounds.
"This was a huge win for us as a team," Coach Ryan Cottingham
said. "Carden responded well after the
half, Bellamy had a huge night for us, and Pickvet, I thought, was the best
player on the court. I was extremely
proud of how our guys responded and how physical we played tonight.
The Cougars are on the road for the rest of 2010 and won't
have a home game until January 6th when Bethel College comes to
town. SAU will travel to Albion College
on Tuesday, December 14th with a 7:30 tip off.
