| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Indiana South Bend (22-8) | 41 | 48 | 89 |
|
Olivet Nazarene (23-7) | 27 | 49 | 76 |
BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – A second-half rally wasn't enough for the Olivet Nazarene University men's basketball team as they fell to the IU-South Bend Titans 89-76 in the semifinal round of the CCAC Tournament Thursday evening.
The Tigers came out of the halftime locker room facing a 14-point deficit, which quickly ballooned to 18 when the Titans (22-8) scored four-straight points to open the second half.
But that was when Landon Pfelderer caught fire from deep. The junior guard from Tremont, Ill. knocked down five three-pointers in a four-minute stretch to ignite a 19-6 run for ONU. When a Tyler Schmidt jumper closed the ONU scoring spurt, the Tigers only trailed by seven with 11 minutes to play.
Two minutes later, Schmidt came up with a layup to cut the lead down to six. But that would be the closest the Tigers would get as IU-South Bend refused to cool down on offense. ONU was able to cut the lead down to seven twice over the final five minutes, but the Titans continued to come up with an answer on the following possessions to hold on for the win and the chance to play in the CCAC Tournament Championship game.
The game got out to a good start for the Purple and Yellow Gold. After IU-South Bend scored the game's opening basket, the Tigers left them off the scoreboard for the next four minutes of action. And when Caleb Swearingen knocked down a triple five minutes into the game, the Tigers were up by five.
The rest of the opening period was a different story, however, as the Tigers started to struggle on the offensive end. This allowed the Titans, who finally found its shooting touch, to go on a game-altering 16-2 run that gave them a lead that they would hold on to for the remainder of the contest.
While IU-South Bend shot at a better than 57-percent clip, ONU shot just 38.5 percent from the field. They also gave away 13 turnovers.
Schmidt filled in 25 to lead all scorers, knocking down 3 three-pointers and going a perfect 10-for-10 from the charity stripe. Pflederer hit five threes on his way to 23 points. He also dished out five assists.
The loss drops ONU to 23-7 overall and eliminates them from the CCAC Tournament. However, the season is not over as the Tigers received an automatic bid to the NAIA Tournament for winning the CCAC regular-season title. The opening round of the national tournament is set to begin on March 7.
GAME VITALS
Final: IU-South Bend 89, Olivet Nazarene 76
Records: IU-South Bend 22-8 | Olivet Nazarene 23-7
Location: McHie Arena | Olivet Nazarene University | Bourbonnais, Ill.
QUICK HITS
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The loss eliminates the Tigers from the CCAC Tournament.
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Tyler Schmidt led all scorers with 25 points.
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Landon Pflederer hit five three-pointers to score 23 points.
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ONU shot just 38.5 percent from the floor.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Tigers will continue their season in the NAIA National Tournament, with the opening round set to begin on Tuesday, March 7. ONU will find out where they are headed early next week. Check www.onutigers.com or the ONU Athletics social media outlets for updates.
--ONU—
*Contact: Evan Wild, Sports Information Director, ewwild@olivet.edu
