| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Calumet (IN) (15-12, 10-10) | 34 | 41 | 75 |
|
Olivet Nazarene (IL) (15-13, 13-7) | 39 | 40 | 79 |
BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – On a day where the team honored three graduating seniors, the Olivet Nazarene University men's basketball team held on down the stretch to wrap the regular season with a 79-75 win over Calumet Saturday afternoon in McHie Arena.
Four Tigers finished in double figures, accounting for 76 of ONU's 79 points scored in the win. The team was led by three-time CCAC Offensive Player of the Week Caleb Corro who scored a game-high 24 points on 8-of-17 shooting. Eli Edwards continued his dominant return with 18 points while Daniel Murphy and Caleb Swearingen chipped in 17 apiece.
And they would need every one of those points to get past Calumet (15-12, 10-10 CCAC), who entered the contest one spot back from ONU in the conference standings.
Trailing 26-23 late in the opening period, Murphy scored on a driving layup and Corro knocked down a pair of free throws to put the Tigers in front. Edwards knocked down a 3-pointer before Murphy closed the first-half scoring with another layup to give ONU a 39-34 halftime advantage.
After the Crimson Wave opened the second half with a 3-pointer to cut the lead to two, Caleb Swearingen ignited a 14-3 ONU run with an and-one play. And when Murphy capped the spurt with six consecutive points, the Tigers held a 13-point lead.
Calumet refused to go away, eventually cutting the ONU lead to one possession within the final two minutes. The Crimson Wave had a chance to tie the game with a made basket and a foul but failed to capitalize when they missed the equalizing free throw.
Andrew Bennett made them pay when he rattled home a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession to extend the lead back to four. Swearingen knocked down three free throws in the final minute to seal off the ONU win, the team's fifth in a row to close out the regular season.
ONU will turn their sites to the postseason as they enter the CCAC Tournament as the No. 5 seed. They will travel to No. 4-seeded Indiana South Bend for their quarterfinal matchup Tuesday.
--ONU—
*Contact: Evan Wild, Sports Information Director, ewwild@olivet.edu
