EMICH, SCHMIDT LEAD No. 15 TIGERS PAST FIGHTING BEES 85-70

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – Tyler Schmidt scored 23 points and Sam Emich filled in a 30 point, 10 rebound double-double to lead the No. 15 Olivet Nazarene University men's basketball team past St. Ambrose 85-70 Tuesday night in McHie Arena.

The duo made their presence known early, combining for 30 points in the first half to give ONU a lead they would maintain for the entirety of the second half.

With ONU trailing 20-19 midway through the opening period, Emich filled in eight of his 16 first-half points in a solo 8-0 run to give the Tigers the lead. But the Fighting Bees (5-3, 2-1 CCAC) responded with a 10-0 run of their own to retake the lead.

Griffin Andricks buried a three-pointer from the top of the key to snap the SAU run and tie the game. The three sparked an 11-2 ONU run, and when Schmidt and Emich converted on back-to-back and-one layups, the Tigers led by six. ONU would hold the lead from there.

Schmidt opened the second half with four straight points to extend the Tiger lead to double digits. The Fighting Bees, who came into the contest atop the CCAC standings, cut the deficit to five on two separate occasions under the 10-minute mark. But a Landon Pflederer layup ignited a 10-2 run that put the Tigers up by double figures for the remainder of the game.

Emich matched a career high with 30 points to go with a team-leading 10 rebounds in logging his first double-double of the season. He connected on 9-of-18 field goals, including three 3-pointers, and shot 9-of-10 from the free-throw line.

Schmidt, the defending CCAC Player of the Week, went over 20 points for the fifth time this year with 23 points on 8-of-17 shooting. He also grabbed six boards and dished out a team-high five assists.

The two seniors helped ONU shoot at a 50-percent clip from the floor as a team. ONU went 7-of-18 from beyond the arc and hit 18-of-25 from the charity stripe in the win.

Pflederer and Caleb Swearingen finished with 13 and 10 points, respectively, to give the Tigers four players in double figures. Andricks chipped in five. Daniel Murphy and Eli Edwards both came off the bench to score two points each.

ONU, now 6-1 overall and 2-0 in the league play, will hit the road for the first time in a month to take on Judson on Saturday, Dec. 2. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m. CST following the women's game.

--ONU—

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