MEMPHIS-The Christian Brothers University Bucs shot 55 percent from the floor and 52 percent from three-point range as they rolled to an 89-68 win over Union Saturday night.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
• The Bucs (5-3, 2-0 GSC) opened the game with a 9-0 run capped by an Alex Trentman (Alexandria, Ky./Bishop Brossart HS) layup with 16:49 remaining in the first half and never allowed Union (5-3, 0-2) closer than six points again.
• After Union cut the CBU lead to 18-11, the Bucs used another 8-0 run bookended by a pair of Jeff Larkin (Cincinnati, Ohio/La Salle HS) three-pointers to push their lead to 26-11 with 8:58 remaining in the first half. The Bucs led by as many as 26 points in the second half.

KEY STATS:
• Larkin scored 24 points with seven assists, making 6-of-7 three-pointers for the game.
• Adam Dieball (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lakota East HS) scored 17 with five assists and three blocks.
• Trentman sadded 11 with a team-high six rebounds.
• Mitch Mays (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lakota East HS) tacked on 11.
• Cody Garbuzinski (Memphis, Tenn./Christian Brothers HS) scored nine points off the bench.
• The Bucs shot 55.2 percent (32-of-58) from the floor, including 52.4 percent (11-of-21) from three-point range. Union shot 49.1 percent (26-of-53) overall but just 33.3 percent (6-of-18) from beyond the arc.
• The Bulldogs out-rebounded CBU 31-26, including an 8-5 edge in offensive boards, but the Bucs forced 14 turnovers while committing just four, against 24 assists.

HEAD COACH MIKE NIENABER'S THOUGHTS:
On Jeff Larkin's performance:
"It was great to see Jeff tonight, because Jeff has been struggling with his shot a little bit. I thought he had one of his best games at Union just as a floor general, that was a 10 assist to one turnover night. So it's not like he hasn't had some good games, but it was good to see him get going offensively. He got good looks tonight and nailed them."

On the team's offense:
"The one thing about us, we have the offensive weapons to win this league. If we execute and play smart, we've got enough firepower. And on any given night, we've got really five or six guys that can put up 20 points and be the guy that Jeff was tonight or Brad was there and Adam is from time to time. All these guys are capable of that. The big question is are we going to continue to grow defensively. When we're executing on offense and playing our game, it takes the pressure off of our defense, and that's critical for us."

On his team's 24:4 assist-to-turnover ratio:
"Offensive efficiency. These coaches say defense wins championships. It's a lie. If you look at the stats, if you look at the analytics, offensive efficiency wins championships. And offensive efficiency for us is that kind of a number. But again it's what it does for our defense. Union has a couple of great offensive players, guys we can't stop one on one. And if you let them get in a groove, then it can really get ugly fast. When we're that good offensively, it makes our defense better."

On next week's games:
"A big thing for our guys, we were in this situation two years ago coming into the Christmas break. We had four home games and we wound up losing three out of four. I felt like exams really took their toll on our team. We've been talking about it for two weeks, saying you've got to get things done so you're not pulling all-nighters Tuesday and Wednesday night going into that game Thursday. The teams coming in here aren't worried about exams. Because they've already taken them."

WHAT'S NEXT:
The Bucs continue their season-long four-game homestand Thursday night at 7 p.m. when they host Valdosta State.