TIGERS LEAVE FLORIDA EMPTY-HANDED

TAMPA, Fla. – Despite two solid efforts playing on a back-to-back, the Olivet Nazarene University men's basketball team left the Sunshine State empty-handed this week. The Tigers lost to Southeastern 78-74 Wednesday before falling 70-63 to Florida College Thursday.

Despite the final score, ONU shot nearly 49 percent from the floor in the setback to Southeastern. The Tigers knocked down seven triples and went 9-of-10 from the free-throw line but could not get the buckets down the stretch to snag a victory.

Caleb Corro led the Purple & Yellow Gold to a 35-33 halftime lead with 11 points in the opening frame. Eli Edwards also chipped in eight points and hauled down seven boards in the first half to get the Tigers out to a strong start.

But the Fire (5-7) found their shooting rhythm in the second half, shooting at better than 56 percent from the field and 57 percent from beyond the arc over the final 20 minutes to steal the win from the Tigers.

Edwards and Corro filled it up with 23 and 20 points, respectively. The former also brought down a career-best 13 rebounds. Tyler Curl came off the bench to score eight points. Luke Braman had seven, Caleb Swearingen had five, and Daniel Murphy recorded four.

The success on offense failed to carry over to Thursday. ONU shot worse than 38 percent from the floor while connecting on just nine of their 34 three-point attempts. The Tigers were also hurt on the glass, getting outrebounded by the Flacons 37-22.

And a slow start made it even worse. ONU started the game in a 16-0 hole, missing their first four field-goal attempts and committing six turnovers in the first eight minutes. The Tigers didn't get on the scoreboard until the 12-minute mark with a pair of Corro free throws.

Edwards and Trent Rayborn led an ONU second-half rally with nine and eight points, respectively. The Tigers trailed by as many as 21 in the final period but were able to cut the deficit to six points at 69-63 with 90 seconds remaining. But the Falcons (5-11) hit their free throws down the stretch to secure their win.

Corro had another big scoring game with 19 points in the loss. Edwards reached double figures again with 13 points. Swearingen and Braman had four points apiece.

The Tigers will celebrate Christmas before visiting Huntington on Dec. 30.

--ONU—

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