ONU UNABLE TO KEEP PACE IN SEASON OPENER AT No. 3 IWU

MARION, Ind. – The Olivet Nazarene University men's basketball team opened their 2024-25 campaign with one of the toughest tests they'll face all year when they traveled to Indiana Wesleyan Tuesday evening. The Tigers couldn't keep pace as they dropped their season-opener 108-67 in Luckey Arena.

The Tigers came out slow and fell into a big hole early as Indiana Wesleyan, who debuted at No. 3 in the NAIA Coaches' Top-25 preseason rankings, quickly converted on their opportunities to open up a double-digit lead at 13-2 in just over four minutes.

Eli Edwards got the Tigers in rhythm with six straight points off two layups and a pair of free throws. Daniel Murphy converted on a second-chance basket to cut the deficit down to 10 midway through the first, but that would be the closest ONU would get to the Wildcats as IWU found their shooting touch, connecting on a 57 percent clip from the floor and better than 42 percent from deep in the first half.

When the first half came to a close, the Tigers found themselves in a 23-point deficit. And the struggles continued into the second half as IWU ran away with the contest.

Edwards finished with a career-best 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Caleb Corro chipped in 17 points and Daniel Murphy had an efficient 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Caleb Swearingen scored eight and Luke Braman had six. Keagan Holder and Andrew Bennett both scored two points each off the bench.

The Tigers will look to bounce back when they host Cornerstone for their home-opener in McHie Arena Saturday.

--ONU—

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