SECOND-HALF COMEBACK FIZZLES OUT IN 79-72 SETBACK TO SAINT XAVIER

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. –  A comeback bid fell apart down the stretch as the Olivet Nazarene University men's basketball team lost in a 79-72 setback to conference rival Saint Xavier Saturday afternoon in McHie Arena.

The Tigers trailed by a bucket early until Luke Yeager sparked an ONU spurt with a made free throw. Daniel Murphy put ONU in front with a driving layup and a Caleb Swearingen lay-in extended the lead to three at 22-19 midway through the first half.

The two teams traded baskets and the lead over the next few minutes until Saint Xavier (13-5, 8-2 CCAC) with nine unanswered points late in the opening period. Caleb Corro snapped the run with a transition layup with a few seconds left in the half, but the Cougars still held a 41-35 advantage at the break.

The Cougars rolled the momentum into the second half, building a 16-point lead over ONU with 13 minutes to play. That was when the Tigers caught fire from deep, unloading a barrage of 3-pointers to get right back into the game. A Tyler Curl three sandwiched between two triples from Corro cut the deficit to single digits at 62-54.

ONU rallied on the flurry of 3-pointers behind a stellar performance from Mason Wood. The freshman forward, who had just 16 points on the season entering the game, scored eight unanswered points to tie the game at 62-62. Wood scored three consecutive layups and capped the spurt with two free throws to make it a brand new game with 8:24 remaining.

However, the Tigers could not get over the hump as Saint Xavier got back into their rhythm with five quick points to jump back in front. Wood scored a second-chance basket to cut the deficit back to own possession, but that would be the closest ONU would get as the Cougars pulled away for the win.

Corro led all scorers with 18 points. Wood finished his breakout game with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Curl and Andrew Bennett scored 10 points apiece, with the former bringing down a career-high 14 rebounds for his first double-double.

ONU will look to bounce back when they host St. Ambrose Wednesday.

--ONU—

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