BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – The Olivet Nazarene University men’s basketball team found its footing in the second half to take down Governors State 86-77 Saturday afternoon in McHie Arena.
After the Jaguars knocked down a jumper to break the tie and take a 62-60 lead midway through the second period, Caleb Corro ignited a 9-0 run that put the Tigers in the driver’s seat. The redshirt junior guard was fouled at the rim and knocked down the ensuing free throws to tie the game.
Caleb Swearingen followed his teammate up with two free throws of his own to put ONU back in front. Tyler Curl then knocked down a corner three before Corro capped the game-altering run with a transition layup to make it 69-62.
ONU held their advantage from there on out, largely in part to their perimeter defense down the stretch. After GSU shot over 71 percent from deep (5-of-7) in the first half, the Tigers limited the Jaguars to just one made 3-pointer on 12 attempts in the final period.
Governors State (7-9, 3-5 CCAC) was able to cut the ONU lead to four with five minutes remaining. But Curl, who hit five triples in the game, and Swearingen knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the lead back to double digits. The Tigers led comfortably from there.
Corro led all scorers with 23 points, his third game in a row and sixth of the season with over 20 points scored. He was one of four Tigers in double figures: Curl filled in 17 points with his five 3’s, Swearingen finished with 15, and Luke Yeager came off the bench to fill in 12
Six Tigers all recorded at least three assists, including all five starters. Daniel Murphy led the game with seven along with his team-leading eight rebounds. Corro had six dimes and Andrew Bennett had five. Swearingen, Yeager, and Luke Braman recorded three apiece.
ONU will look to build a winning streak when they travel to Calumet Wednesday.
–ONU—
*Contact: Evan Wild, Sports Information Director, ewwild@olivet.edu
