PFLEDERER NETS 1,000th CAREER POINT AS No. 19 TIGERS SPLIT TWO IN HAWAII

HILO, Hawaii – Landon Pflederer scored his 1,000th career point to help the No. 19 Olivet Nazarene University men's basketball team to an 85-75 win over Hastings in their final game of the Big Island Classic in Hawaii.

Needing just two points entering the contest, Pflederer reached the milestone five minutes into the first half. He created a Hastings turnover with a steal and drove the length of the court for a fastbreak layup, which marked his 1,000th career point in an ONU uniform.

Pflederer, who has played in 94 games for Olivet Nazarene, is the 49th player to score 1,000 points in program history.

He was one of four Tigers to hit double figures in Tuesday's win, finishing with 15 points. The Tigers were led on the scoresheet by Sam Emich, who filled in 20 points on an efficient 9-of-12 shooting night. Daniel Murphy came off the bench to net 14 while Tyler Schmidt, who joined the 1,000-point club early last season, knocked down all three of his 3-pointers in scoring 11.

Tied at 47-47 midway through the second half, Emich knocked down a jumper to ignite a 10-4 run. And when Eli Edwards sank a free throw a few possessions later, the ONU lead was bumped to double digits. The Tigers led comfortably from their en route to the win.

It took two overtimes to determine the winner in Monday's opener, with the Tigers ultimately falling short in a hard-fought 108-103 loss against Concordia (Neb.).

A trio of Tigers scored over 20 points in the game, led by Pflederer who netted 23 in part to a perfect 10-of-10 performance from the free throw line. Schmidt filled in 22 while Emich dropped in 21 of his own.

After a slow start, the Tigers found themselves down by 10 at halftime, with the deficit growing to as many as 14 at the 15:04 mark of the second half. But that was when ONU exploded for a 9-0 run, with Edwards chipping in a tip-in layup, Schmidt converting on an and-one, and Murphy throwing down a dunk. And when Emich knocked down a jump shot, the Tigers only trailed by five.

ONU battled it all the way back, with Schmidt burying a three to make it a an 82-82 game with less than two minutes remaining. Emich gave ONU the lead on a tip-in layup, but Concordia hit a pair of free throws with two seconds remaining to force overtime.

A second overtime was needed after a winner wasn't decided in the first, with both teams notching 10 points in the five minutes of play. Pflederer gave the Tigers an early lead with a three-pointer, but the Bulldogs responded with a 7-2 run to take the lead. Pflederer responded with a pair of free throws, but Concordia eventually ran away with it to hand the Tigers the loss.

The Tigers will take a break for the holidays before returning to CCAC play in the new year with a game at St. Francis (Ill.) on Jan. 3.

--ONU—

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