Just four days after a career-high scoring performance of 27 points in a Wednesday victory at Kalamazoo, Aultman exploded for another career high in Saturday’s win over Olivet as he pumped in 30 points from all angles.
The lanky 6-8 forward connected on 10 of 16 field goal attempts in the victory including 2 of 2 from three-point range and 8 of 9 at the free throw line while also snaring seven rebounds.
Calvin (9-6 overall, 3-1 MIAA) needed every one of Aultman’s points to hold off the Comets (9-6 overall, 3-1 MIAA) Saturday as Olivet sophomore De ‘Andre Pruitt nearly matched Aultman with 29 points of his own including a 5 for 11 showing from downtown.
Calvin used a 6-1 run at the end of the first half to take a 38-31 halftime lead. Olivet came back to whittle the Calvin lead down to two points at 46-44 and then to three points at 68-65 with 4:39 remaining but the Knights came up with clutch shots whenever they were needed.
After Olivet closed to within 46-44 on a three-pointer by Pruitt, Calvin sophomore Kyle Trewhella ripped in a three-pointer just seconds after entering the game to give the Knights a five-point cushion.
Senior Kevin Broene also provided a clutch bucket for the Knights after the Comets had closed to within three late by swishing in a jumper from the free throw line to give Calvin a 70-65 advantage. Junior Ricky Shilts also connected on a key three-point shot with 3:22 left that gave the Knights a 73-66 lead. Calvin then connected on 9 of 10 at the free throw line in the final 1:01 of the contest to seal the win.
In addition to Aultman’s 30-point effort, Calvin received 19 from Shilts who went 3 for 6 from three-point range and nailed all 10 of his free throw tries. Senior center Ryan Smalligan added nine rebounds, six assists, four point and four blocked shots while Broene chipped in with seven points and four board. Ronnie Pearson also had 14 for Olivet with Thad Mitchner adding 11 off the bench.
Calvin shot 42.6 percent from the floor and Olivet 40.6 percent. Both teams also hit nine three-pointers apiece. The difference came at the free throw line as Calvin went 29 of 33 at the stripe (.879) while Olivet was just 13 of 22 (.591) at the line.
After opening the season with a 2-4 record, Calvin has now won seven of its last nine games.
Calvin returns to action on Wednesday when it hosts Alma at 7:30 p.m. at the Calvin Fieldhouse.