By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information

Toledo, Ohio---Cameron White (Bowsher/Toledo, Ohio) led six players in double figures as the No. 8 Owens Community College men's basketball team cruised to a 112-69 win over Ivy Tech Community College in the team's regular season opener.

White had 15 of his team-high 19 points in the second half when he finished 5-for-7 overall, 2-for-2 from 3-point range and 3-for-3 from the foul line. Overall, he went 7-for-12 from the field while tying for the team-high in assists with five, as well.

The Express started the game by scoring the first seven points. A little later, after Daylan Lanier's lay-up pull Ivy Tech with seven at the 14:09 mark, the Express went on a 12-0 run to take a 28-9 lead with just over 11 minutes left. An 11-0 run late in the half stretched the lead to 31 with 4:44 remaining.

In the second half, the Express stretched the lead to as many as 44 on Pete Firlik's (Catholic Central/Grand Rapids, Mich.) lay-up with 4:24 remaining that made it 106-62.

Six players scored in double figures for the Express, three from the starting lineup and three from the bench. All 19 of White's points came off the bench. Three others scored 15, including Firlik, John Murry (North Central/Indianapolis, Ind.) and Edmond Early Jr. (Thurgood Marshall/Dayton, Ohio). 

Kenny Jones (Clay/South Bend, Ind.) added 11 points, while CJ Bussey (Central Catholic/Toledo, Ohio). Firlik and Darren Groves (Thurgood Marshall/Dayton, Ohio) each had a team-high eight rebounds, while White and Early Jr. tied for the team-high in assists with five. Early Jr. also had a team-high three steals, and Groves had a team-high two blocks.

Ivy Tech's Ray Love had a game-high 25 points on 10-for-15 shooting. His teammates Ju'wan Ponder and Kristian Rodriguez added 13 and 12 points, respectively.

As a team, the Express outrebounded Ivy Tech 47-29. After shooting over 80 percent from the field and from 3-point range for most of the first half, the Express finished the game shooting 60 percent from the field and 47.4 percent from 3-point range. They also tallied an 81.2 percent free throw percentage.

The Express (1-0) will host Kellogg Community College at 8 p.m. on Friday in the semifinals of the Owens Tip Off Classic. The winner will face the winner of the 4 p.m. Jamestown Community College vs Schoolcraft College on Saturday at 8 p.m. The loser will play in the consolation game at 4 p.m.

Notes

You can watch the archived version of tonight's game here