Congratulations to the IU South Bend men’s basketball team! The Titans made history winning their first Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship March 2 after a thrilling 91-86 overtime victory at top-seeded and No. 4 Olivet Nazarene. The Titans rallied from nine down with 48.8 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime, knocking off its second top-10 opponent in four days and earning a trip to the NAIA DII Tournament.
In IU South Bend’s final possession of regulation, junior guard Dylan Allen dribbled the length of the floor in 3.5 seconds off the ensuing inbounds and sank the game-tying buzzer-beating three-pointer to send the CCAC title game into overtime.
Allen and the rest of the Titans rode the momentum in overtime as the guard got IUSB on the board first with a pair of free throws with 3:56 left to go. IUSB held the nationally-ranked Tigers to just four points in overtime that came at the hands of Nic Reed’s freebies.
Olivet Nazarene led by as many as 10 in the first period, jumping out to a 26-16 lead early on. IUSB battled back to pull within three at the end of the first half of play. The Titans refused to let up, pulling within one, 65-64, of the Tigers at the 6:43 second half mark before ONU went on a 14-4 run in just four minutes. Allen got the offense rolling again with a layup at 2:06 that sparked the unbelievable comeback.
The Titans finished the game shooting 43.8 percent (32-of-73) from the floor, 37.5 (9-of-24) from three-point land and just 58.1 (18-of-31) on free throws. IUSB forced 13 turnovers on nine steals and outscored ONU in bench points 24-5. With the victory, IUSB improves to 25-8 overall and handed Olivet Nazarene its first loss at home this season as the Tigers drop to 30-3 overall.
IUSB will learn its NAIA DII Tournament fate Wednesday, March 4. The selection show is scheduled for 6 p.m. (EST) and can be viewed here.
