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Photo credit: Lin Marijnissen
Photo credit: Lin Marijnissen
Posted: Feb 18, 2023

TIGERS DEFEAT SXU 85-79 TO WIN CCAC REGULAR-SEASON TITLE

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BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – With the CCAC regular-season championship on the line, the Olivet Nazarene University men's basketball team rose to the occasion to take down Saint Xavier 85-79 and win the conference title Saturday afternoon. The win also punches ONU's ticket to the NAIA National Tournament in March.

Both teams shot the lights out in the first half, with each team connecting on better than 62-percent of their shots from the floor and knocking down 50-percent of their shots from deep.

Saint Xavier (22-6, 16-4 CCAC) held a 42-41 lead with a minute to play in the opening period, but Barik Olden took the lead on a layup. On the next possession, Landon Pflederer found Tyler Schmidt in the corner for a jumpshot to put ONU up by three heading into the halftime locker room.

The second half got out to a slow start for the Tigers, who didn't score their first points of the period until four minutes into the action. Caleb Swearingen put the Tigers up 58-52 on a layup with 12 minutes to play, but that was when the Cougars pieced together a 9-0 run to retake the lead.

However, the Tigers had the answer with a 9-0 run of their own to swing the momentum back on their side. And when Sam Emich closed the spurt with driving layup, the Tigers led by six with eight minutes to go.

Thanks to some strong defense and solid free-throw shooting down the stretch, the Tigers held on to defeat the Cougars and capture their fifth-consecutive CCAC regular-season crown.

Schmidt led all scorers with 28 on 11-of-16 shooting. Swearingen filled in a season-high 21 points while going 9-of-10 from the charity stripe. Emich chipped in 12 off the bench and Barik Olden shot an efficient 5-of-7 from the floor on his way to 11 points.

The win puts the Tigers at 22-6 overall and 17-3 in the CCAC at the end of the regular season. ONU will be the one-seed throughout the conference tournament, which begins next Tuesday, Feb. 21, with a home game against Holy Cross.

GAME VITALS

Final: Olivet Nazarene 85, Saint Xavier 79

Records: Olivet Nazarene 22-6 (17-3 CCAC) | Saint Xavier (22-6, 16-4 CCAC)

Location: McHie Arena | Olivet Nazarene University | Bourbonnais, Ill.

QUICK HITS

  • ONU wins their fifth-consecutive CCAC regular-season title.

  • Tyler Schmidt dropped in 28 points to lead all scorers.

  • Caleb Swearingen filled in a season-high 21 points.

  • Four Tigers scored in double figures.

WHAT'S NEXT

The No. 1-seeded Tigers will host No. 8 Holy Cross in McHie Arena on Tuesday, Feb. 21 in the opening round of the CCAC Tournament. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. CST. 

 

--ONU—

 

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