SEASON COMES TO AN END IN NAIA FIRST ROUND
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Olivet Nazarene (IL) (22-9) | 37 | 42 | 79 |
|
Georgetown (24-7) | 51 | 46 | 97 |
SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Back in the national tournament for a sixth consecutive year, the Olivet Nazarene University men's basketball team saw its 2023-24 season come to a close with a 97-79 defeat to Georgetown (Ky.) in the NAIA National Championship First Round Friday at the RVSC-Allee Gym.
The Purple & Yellow Gold hung tough early but just couldn't keep pace with the hot-shooting GC Tigers (24-7), who connected at a better than 58-percent clip from the floor (20-of-34 and knocked down eight of 14 three-pointers in scoring 51 points in the first half. Georgetown hit their first five shots of the game to stake an early eight-point lead and ONU never closed the gap.
ONU matched that production early, shooting nearly 50-percent from the floor (12-of-25) and hitting 5-of-11 from three-point range. And when Landon Pflederer connected on three-straight 3-pointers, the GC lead was narrowed to 30-25 at the midway point of the first half.
That would be the closest ONU would get, however, as Georgetown responded with a 12-2 run over the next four minutes to virtually put things out of reach. The GC Tigers led by double-digits from there on out to eliminate ONU from the NAIA National Championships in the first round.
Four Tigers finished in double figures, led by Tyler Schmidt who filled in a game-high 24 points on 8-of-17 shooting. He was also a perfect 7-for-7 at the charity stripe. Pflederer hit four 3's on his way to 16 points, Sam Emich chipped in a dozen, and Caleb Swearingen netted 11.
The Tigers finished the season with a 22-9 overall record.
--ONU—
*Contact: Evan Wild, Sports Information Director, ewwild@olivet.edu
