All-Indiana CCAC Final Set For Monday Night
CHICAGO --- For the first time in Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference history, it will be an all-Indiana final for the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament championship on Monday night.
No. 4 seed and defending tournament champion Indiana University South Bend (22-8) earned its placement by edging out top-seeded Roosevelt University 72-70, while No. 2 Indiana University Northwest (20-10) claimed a 78-64 victory over No. 3 Olivet Nazarene University on Friday.
The two Hoosier foes will meet at the Savannah Center on the campus of IUNW at 7 pm for the right to go to the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round March 15-16. During the regular season, the two teams split with both winning at home. Indiana South Bend won the first matchup 84-74 on Nov. 21 with Indiana Northwest gaining revenge in a 77-61 contest on Jan. 20.
Both teams tied for second place in the league standings with Olivet Nazarene, going an identical 15-5. Indiana Northwest and Olivet Nazarene gained the higher seeds over IUSB in the tournament by virtue of tie-breaker rules.
Recapping Friday:
Indiana Northwest 78, Olivet Nazarene 64
Trace Williams and Dannie Smith both recorded double-doubles for Indiana Northwest and the RedHawks erased a 12-point first-half deficit with a closing 12-0 run over the final 4:23 before the break to advance to the championship. Another 7-0 burst over a three-minute span late in the second half allowed IUNW to finally pull away from the Tigers turning a 57-54 lead into a 64-54 advantage with under four minutes to play in the contest. Williams posted totals of 19 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, while Smith matched his 13 points with 13 rebounds. Anthony Taylor tied Williams for team-high scoring honors. ONU's Tyler Schmidt led all scorers with 26 points to go along with eight rebounds with Griffin Andricks contributing 17 points and eight boards.
Indiana South Bend 72, Roosevelt 70
Indiana South Bend trailed by as many as 17 points in the second half only to tally 24 of the final 33 points to advance to the title game for the fourth time in five years. Dejon Barney authored 13 of his 18 points after the break, where the Titans shot 50 percent both from the field (14-of-28) and beyond the arc (5-of-10). Roosevelt was 30 percent overall (9-of-30) and 33.3 percent from three (3-of-9) during that same stretch of time. Indiana South Bend also held a 22-13 advantage on free throws for the game with the Titans going 22-for-32 (68.8 pct.) and the Lakers 13-for-16 (81.3 pct.). Jylen Petty's 25 points off the bench for IUSB were a game high. He also pulled down seven rebounds. Barney (14 rebounds) finished with a double-double as did Roosevelt's Kani Acree (19 points, 13 rebounds).
The complete results and updated schedule follow:
Wednesday, February 28, 2024
Game #1: No. 1 seed Roosevelt 80, No. 8 seed Judson 58
Game #2: No. 4 seed Indiana South Bend 76, No. 5 seed Saint Xavier 74
Game #3: No. 2 seed Indiana Northwest 78, No. 7 seed St. Francis 65
Game #4: No. 3 seed Olivet Nazarene 104, No. 6 seed St. Ambrose 77
Friday, March 1, 2024 (at site of highest remaining seed)
Game #5: No. 4 seed Indiana South Bend 72, No. 1 seed Roosevelt 70
Game #6: No. 2 seed Indiana Northwest 78, No. 3 seed Olivet Nazarene 64
Monday, March 4, 2024 (at site of highest remaining seed)
Game #7: No. 4 seed Indiana South Bend (22-8) at No. 2 seed Indiana Northwest (20-10)