Kankakee Times

TIGERS GRAB BOUNCE-BACK WIN OVER CALUMET

 After having their four-game win streak snapped in a road loss on Saturday, the Olivet Nazarene University men's basketball team bounced back with a 83-57 win over the Calumet Crimson Wave in McHie Arena Wednesday night.

Calumet (4-12, 4-10 CCAC) opened the scoring with a quick layup, but Tyler Schmidt and Barik Olden connected on layups in back-to-back possessions to give the Tigers a lead they would hold on to for the remainder of the game.

The game stayed within one or two possessions for the following six minutes, and when Calumet's Oshawn Lee hit a three at the 11:44 mark of the first half, the Crimson Wave only trailed 17-16.

But that was where the Tigers ramped it up. ONU, who started finding its shooting touch, pieced together a 16-4 run that put the Tigers up by double-digits. The dynamic duo of Schmidt and Landon Pflederer combined for 12-straight points, while Schmidt ended the spurt with an emphatic dunk that got the McHie Arena fans on their feet.

The Tigers built on their double-digit halftime lead when Schmidt and Olden both cashed in layups to open the second-half scoring.

A near five-minute scoring drought from ONU allowed the wave to piece together six-straight points, but the Tigers responded with yet another 16-4 run to put themselves up by 25. The outcome was never in doubt from there.

Schmidt ended with a game-high 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Pflederer bagged four threes on his way to 17 points and dished out 10 assists to tally his first double-double of the season.

Caleb Swearingen contributed 13 points while Sam Emich brought down a game-high 10 rebounds.

The win improves the Tigers to 16-6 overall and 11-3 in CCAC play.

GAME VITALS

Final: Olivet Nazarene 83, Calumet 57

Records: Olivet Nazarene 16-6 (11-3 CCAC) | Holy Cross 4-12 (4-10 CCAC)

Location: McHie Arena | Olivet Nazarene University | Bourbonnais, Ill.

QUICK HITS

• Tyler Schmidt led the Tigers with 22 points.

• Landon Pflederer down four three-pointers and dished out 10 assists for his first double-double.

• ONU shot at a better than 43-percent clip from deep while limiting Calumet to 13-percent from behind the line.

• The Tigers outrebounded the Crimson Wave 36-29.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Tigers will play game two of their three-game homestand on Saturday, Jan. 28 against the Cardinal Stritch Wolves. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m. CST following the women's game.

Original source can be found here