CORRO, EDWARDS LEAD TIGERS PAST INDIANA SOUTH BEND 85-80
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Indiana South Bend (IN) (16-11, 13-6) | 37 | 43 | 80 |
|
Olivet Nazarene (IL) (14-13, 12-7) | 40 | 45 | 85 |
BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – Caleb Corro and Eli Edwards combined for 58 points to lead the Olivet Nazarene University men's basketball team to an 85-80 victory over Indiana South Bend Wednesday evening in McHie Arena.
Corro, who was named the CCAC Offensive Player of the Week for the third time this season on Tuesday, led all scorers with 25 points on 8-of-14 shooting and a prolific 7-of-11 performance from deep. Edwards followed up his career day on Saturday with 23 more points on efficient 9-of-15 shooting from the floor.
They both reached double figures in the first half to lead the Tigers to a 40-37 advantage at halftime. Daniel Murphy broke a 37-37 tie with under a minute remaining on a jumper before Edwards sank a free throw to close out the period with ONU up by three.
The Tigers quickly expanded their lead when Tyler Curl sank a 3-pointer to open the second-half scoring. But Indiana South Bend (16-11, 13-6 CCAC), who entered the game sitting third in the conference standings, quickly battled back with a 7-0 run to jump in front.
The game developed into a back-and-forth affair, featuring over five ties and five lead changes over the final 15 minutes. Tied at 71-71 with just under six minutes to play, Corro broke the game wide open when he connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Tigers up by two possessions.
The Titans closed the gap with consecutive layups and had a chance to tie the score at the free-throw line. But a split trip kept the Tigers in front followed up by an emphatic and-one layup from Edwards gave the Tigers a four-point lead at 80-76 with a minute to go.
Two made Titan free throws cut the ONU lead to two with 46 seconds remaining. With the shot clock winding down on the ensuing possession, Corro heaved up a difficult 3-pointer that found its way home as the shot clock expired to put ONU up by five with under 20 seconds to go.
Another set of IUSB free throws knocked it to one possession again. But Corro sank two clutch free throws to seal the win, ONU's fourth in a row.
Murphy and Caleb Swearingen both hit double figures, as well, with 10 points apiece. Andrew Bennett came off the bench to score nine. Curl hit two 3-points to finish with six points. Luke Braman had two.
The Tigers, now above .500 for the first time this season at 14-13, will close out the regular season when they host Calumet Saturday afternoon.
--ONU—
*Contact: Evan Wild, Sports Information Director, ewwild@olivet.edu
