HOT SHOOTING NIGHT LIFTS No. 15 TIGERS TO BIG WIN OVER SAINT XAVIER

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – In a battle between the conference's top two teams from a year ago, the No. 15 Olivet Nazarene University basketball team rode a hot shooting night to cruise past Saint Xavier 92-69 in the CCAC opener Tuesday night in McHie Arena.

The Tigers shot at a scorching 66.7-percent (36-of-54) shooting clip from the floor, including an elite 11-of-16 (68.8 percent) performance from beyond the three-point arc to roll to the dominant 23-point margin of victory.

Saint Xavier (1-4, 0-1 CCAC) hung tough through the first 10 minutes, withstanding a few ONU runs early to keep the score within one possession. And when the Cougars converted on an and-one layup, the game was tied at 24 with nine minutes to play in the first half.

From there it was all Tigers. Tyler Schmidt got the Tigers in front with a layup before Sam Emich exploded for seven consecutive points. It was all a part of an extended 23-9 run to close out the first half that put the Tigers up by 14 heading into the locker room.

ONU led by double digits from there on out. The starters would hit the bench after an Eli Edwards layup put the Tigers up by 22 and the reserves closed out the big win, the team's fifth victory through six games this season.

The Purple and Yellow Gold were getting easy looks all night thanks to the stellar passing of Schmidt, who dished out a career-high 14 assists to go with his 17 points. He nearly notched a triple-double, bringing down a team-leading seven rebounds.

Five other Tigers also hit double-digit points in the win. Emich led the team with 19 points, knocking down three 3-pointers as part of an efficient 7-of-11 shooting performance. Edwards came off the bench to score 16, Landon Pflederer went 4-for-4 from deep to net a dozen, and Griffin Andricks and Caleb Swearingen chipped in 10 apiece.

The league-opener win improves ONU to 5-1 overall and 1-0 in the CCAC. They will be back in McHie Arena to host the Fighting Bees of St. Ambrose Tuesday at 6 p.m.

--ONU—

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