CORRO COMES THROUGH LATE TO SECURE TIGER WIN AT SAINT XAVIER

CHICAGO, Ill. – Caleb Corro scored his only points of the game when they mattered most Saturday afternoon, helping the Tigers pick up an 81-77 conference win at Saint Xavier.

With 37 seconds left on the clock, Saint Xavier's Kevin Bishop knocked down a pair of free throws to tie the game at 77-all. On the following possession, Corro drove the ball down the lane to score a tough, contested layup in the face of two defenders to give the Tigers a lead with 12 ticks remaining. 

Saint Xavier (5-3, 3-1 CCAC) elected not to use one of their two remaining timeouts and raced down the court. Corro then stripped bishop on his drive to the hoop and was immediately fouled. He would sink the two free throws to secure the win for ONU.

Corro, a sophomore guard from Elmwood Park, Ill., had been left off the scoreboard up until the game-winning basket.

"Corro came up big on what was essentially a broken play," said Nick Birkey, head coach of the Tigers. "That was the whole game for us, guys stepping up when we needed them the most."

The Tigers entered the second half trailing by five. Sam Emich, however, would kick-start a 14-4 ONU run by scoring six-straight points that put the Purple and Yellow Gold in the driver's seat for the remainder of the game.

In the first half, ONU was able to take an early lead by attacking the SXU zone inside. Tyler Schmidt, the reigning CCAC Player of the Week, played the crucial role in the high-post and made the Cougar defense pay. The Valparaiso, Ind. native scored 16 of his game-high 29 points in the first half. He has now led the last three games in scoring and has scored 20-plus in four-straight contests.

Saint Xavier was able to take control of the game midway through with their stellar three-point shooting, knocking down 5-of-9 in the first half. But the Tiger contingency was able to withstand the barrage and outscore Saint Xavier 44-35 in the second half en route to their second CCAC win in as many games.

GAME VITALS

Final: Olivet Nazarene 81, Saint Xavier 77

Records: Olivet Nazarene 5-1 (2-0 CCAC) | Saint Xavier 5-3 (3-1 CCAC)

Location: Sharon Center | Saint Xavier University | Chicago, Ill.

QUICK HITS

• Caleb Corro scored the final four points of the game to secure the 81-77 win.

• Tyler Schmidt dropped in a game-high 29 points on 13-of-23 (56.5%) shooting.

• Sam Emich (18) and Landon Pflederer (15) both finished in double figures.

• Gabe Renchen led the bench-scoring by knocking down both of his three-point attempts.

• The Tigers outscored the Cougars 44-35 in the second half.

• ONU outrebounded SXU 35-32 in the contest.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Tigers will return to McHie Arena for a conference matchup against Indiana Northwest. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CST.

--ONU—

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