BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – The Olivet Nazarene University men’s basketball team prevailed down the stretch to pick up a tightly-contested 68-64 win over St. Ambrose Wednesday evening in McHie Arena.
A defensive battle in the early goings resulted in a low-scoring first half. While ONU only made 11 of their 32 attempts in the opening frame, they also limited the Fighting Bees to just 11 field goals of their own on 30 attempts.
St. Ambrose (12-6, 6-5 CCAC) looked poised to take a two-point lead into halftime after piecing together a late 8-2 run in the final minutes until a halfcourt-heave from Daniel Murphy banked its way in at the buzzer, giving the Tigers a 29-28 advantage at the break.
Andrew Bennett opened the second-half scoring with a driving layup to extend the ONU lead to three. But after that, the Tigers went cold from the floor. On their ensuing nine possessions, ONU missed five shot attempts and committed four turnovers. This allowed the Fighting Bees to rip off an 11-0 run and jump back in front.
Caleb Corro eventually snapped the five-minute scoring drought with a layup which sparked the ONU offense, with the Tigers rallying for a 12-0 run of their own. And when Murphy capped the spurt with a three-point play, ONU led by three at 42-39.
The Tigers would stay in the driver’s seat for the remainder of the game, fighting off any potential St. Ambrose comeback down the stretch. St. Ambrose tied the game at 53-53 with four minutes to play, but Caleb Swearingen swiftly responded with a 3-pointer to go back in front.
The game stayed within one or two possessions in the closing minutes, but Luke Yeager, Swearingen, and Corro all hit free throws in the final minute to seal the win, the Tigers’ sixth in conference play.
After being held scoreless in the first half, Corro rallied back to fill in 17 points in the second period and lead ONU in scoring. Bennett filled in 12 points while Swearingen and Murphy both recorded 11. Yeager finished with eight. Mason Wood led the bench unit with five points.
Murphy and Swearingen led an ONU squad that outrebounded the Bees 44-35 with eight boards apiece. Tyler Curl came off the bench to secure six rebounds.
The Tigers will look to build a win streak when they travel to Judson Saturday.
–ONU—
*Contact: Evan Wild, Sports Information Director, ewwild@olivet.edu
