PFLEDERER HITS CLUTCH FREE THROWS TO PICK UP TIGER WIN

MOUNT VERNON, Ohio – On day one of the Mount Vernon Nazarene Homecoming Classic, the Olivet Nazarene University men's basketball team went down to the wire with the tournament's host, the Mount Vernon Nazarene Cougars.

Landon Pflederer hit a pair of free throws to give the Tigers a four-point lead with 25 seconds remaining. With the shot clock turned off, the Cougars raced down the court and hit a three to make it a one-point game. MVNU tied up the ball on the inbound pass on the next play and the arrow gave them possession. The Cougars then scored a go-ahead layup in what seemed like an absolute dagger for ONU.

With two seconds left on the clock and trailing one point, Pflederer received the inbound pass and was fouled on his way down the court. He made the home team pay by burying both free throws to put the Tigers back on top.

The Cougars were all out of luck as their hail-mary three-point shot was off the mark, giving the Tigers a gutsy 68-67 win at the MVNU Homecoming Classic.

In a tightly contested game from start to finish, ONU took control of the game midway through the first half with an 11-2 run, highlighted by a Sam Emich three-pointer, that gave the Tigers a 35-32 lead heading into the break.

The first-half lead slowly slipped away as the Tigers eventually found themselves facing a five-point deficit with six minutes to play before Caleb Swearingen and Griffin Andricks teams up to score five-straight points to knot the game up. Tyler Schmidt then hit a layup to give the Tigers the lead before the late-game dramatics.

The 68-67 win marks the Tigers' second win of the 2022-23 campaign. They will return to the hardwood tomorrow for day two of the MVNU Homecoming Classic.

GAME VITALS

Final: Olivet Nazarene 68, Mount Vernon Nazarene 67

Records: Olivet Nazarene 2-1 | Mount Vernon Nazarene 3-2

Location: Ariel Arena | Mount Vernon Nazarene University | Mount Vernon, Ohio

QUICK HITS

• The Tigers went 19-of-22 (86.4%) from the free-throw line.

• Landon Pflederer was a perfect 8-of-8 from the charity stripe, including 4-of-4 in the final 30 seconds.

• Tyler Schmidt was ONU's leading scorer and rebounder with 21 and eight, respectively.

• Sam Emich went 4-of-5 from three-point range.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Tigers will wrap up their Ohio trip with a final game at the Mount Vernon Nazarene Homecoming Classic. The will face-off against the Pikeville Bears tomorrow at 12 p.m. CST.

--ONU—

*Contact: Evan Wild, Sports Information Director, ewwild@olivet.edu