LA CROSSE, Wis. – After averaging more than 112 points in winning their previous two contests, the Olivet Nazarene University men's basketball team kept up their winning ways by relying on their defense Saturday.

ONU forced Viterbo into less than 26-percent shooting from the floor and forced 14 turnovers to come away with a gritty 59-44 win at the R.W. Beggs Sr. Gymnasium.

The Tigers held a small advantage at 12-10 halfway through the opening period. Daniel Murphy extended the lead with a driving layup that kickstarted an ONU run. Baskets in three straight possessions off a Brayden Long layup sandwiched between two Caleb Corro baskets had the Purple & Yellow Gold ahead by double figures.

A near seven-minute scoring drought for the Tigers allowed Viterbo (3-8, 1-3 CCAC) to cut the lead down to just one possession. But back-to-back layups from Eli Edwards and a 3-pointer from Corro closed out the first-half scoring and had ONU up 28-19 at halftime.

Six straight points from Edwards and Corro to open the second half gave the Tigers a double-digit advantage they would hold on to for the remainder of the game. The V-hawks got to within nine with 12 minutes to play, but the ONU defense would hold to solidify the win, the team's third in a row.

Viterbo finished just 16-of-63 from the floor and 9-of-25 on threes. The V-Hawks also converted on just 50 percent of their free-throw attempts.

Corro led all scorers, knocking down five triples on his way to 19 points. Edwards scored 17 and pulled down eight rebounds. Murphy nearly missed a double-double with nine points and a game-high 13 boards. Caleb Swearingen finished with seven points.

The Tigers will now go wheels up to Florida to take on Southeastern Wednesday in Lakeland, Fla.

--ONU—

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