MVNU began the season ranked No. 3 in the NAIA Division II preseason poll, but the Cougars got off to a slow start as the team had just a 5-3 record after its first eight games and dropped out of the rankings in early December.

Then, MVNU bounced back with four straight wins to improve to 8-3 before dropping a hard-fought 85-81 decision to eventual NAIA Division II national champion Oklahoma Wesleyan University as part of the team’s Christmas break trip to Texas.

After going 3-3 over their next six games to find themselves with an 11-7 overall record and a 2-3 American Mideast Conference mark, the Cougars used a 20-point road loss at the University of Northwestern Ohio on January 17 to turn around their season.

MVNU proceeded to rattle of 10 straight wins to close the regular season with a 21-7 overall mark as the team topped the 20-win mark for the 12th time in the past 13 seasons. One of the highlights during that span was a 76-71 win at then No. 1 Cedarville University. The Cougars also finished 10-3 in the AMC standings and earned a first round bye in the AMC Tournament. In addition, the strong finish propelled the team all the way up to No. 12 in the final regular-season poll.

MVNU extended its winning streak to 11 straight wins with an 81-66 victory over the University of Northwestern Ohio in the semifinals of the AMC Tournament before the Cougars fell 97-85 at No. 4 Walsh University in the AMC Tournament championship game. However, on the strength of the team’s strong finish, MVNU still received an at-large berth into the NAIA Division II National Tournament in Branson, Mo.

The Cougars squared off with No. 22 Bellevue (Neb.) University in the first round of the 32-team event and came up short by the score of 84-75 to the previous year’s national runner-up as MVNU saw its season come to an end. However, the team had written another successful chapter in the program’s storied history.

"This was a special group of players not only this year but when you look at our senior class it was something special over the past four years,” said MVNU head coach Scott Flemming, who wrapped up his 19th and final season as the Cougars’ head coach as he is stepping down to become the university’s first full-time athletic director after posting a 397-226 record at his alma mater (.637 winning percentage). "We were somewhat inconsistent early in the season, but we were able to get going in the right direction finally and never looked back. To win 11 straight games in this conference is not an easy task. Although you always want to play deeper into the tournament, it was quite an accomplishment for our seniors to make their fourth straight trip to NAIA nationals.”

"This team represented our university well on and off the court,” Flemming continued. "Seven of our players carried a grade point average over a 3.5. That will make a coach proud. Most importantly, though, we tried to honor our God by our actions. He is ultimately who we play for.”

Individually, the Cougars were led by the five-member senior class. Ben Falkenberg, a guard, capped off his outstanding career by averaging 19.3 points while leading all NAIA Division II players by shooting 89.7 percent from the free throw line (122-for-136) in addition to handing out a career-high 133 assists and nailing 109 three-pointers as he was named to the NAIA Division II All-American Second Team. Among the many records that Falkenberg now holds at MVNU, he finishes his career as the program’s all-time leading scorer (2,616 points) and ranks second in career three-pointers made (463).

"Obviously, Ben had a historic career here,” said Flemming. "He will be known as one of the best offensive players to ever put on a Cougar uniform. He made an immediate impact on our program as a freshman and that continued until his last game. He had the ability to take over a game and he did that many times over the past four years.”

Dan Borcherdt, another guard, averaged 11.6 points while handing out 87 assists as a senior. He also nailed a career-high 94 three-pointers and topped the 1,000-point mark in just three seasons as he finished his career with 1,086 points in 93 career games after transferring in from Army following his freshman season. He also finished eighth on the school’s career three-pointers made list with 250.

"Dan filled an important role in leading our team as a point guard and being a tremendous shooter at the same time,” said Flemming. "His competitive nature allowed him to be a very successful college basketball player.”

Jadin Thomas, a forward, put together another outstanding season as he averaged 14.2 points and a team-high 8.3 rebounds while leading the team with 44 blocked shots. In just two years at MVNU after transferring in from Columbus State Community College, Thomas compiled 100 blocked shots to rank seventh in school history while also totaling 943 points and 506 rebounds in just 63 career games.

"Jadin came in last year and filled a role and a position that we needed in order to complete our lineup,” said Flemming. "He has played at a high level and I believe he has been one of the toughest match-ups in our league. He was very effective posting up and he could stretch the defense by knocking down threes. He played much bigger than his size.”

Andy Francis and Matt McKinley, two forwards, were the other members of the senior class. Francis averaged 6.2 points and 4.0 rebounds, while McKinley added 3.0 points and 3.0 rebounds. For his career, Francis finished with 544 points and 354 rebounds in 108 career games, and McKinley added 193 points and 176 rebounds in 78 career games as both players had key roles on the team.

"Andy was the blue collar player that every team needs,” said Flemming. "He’s a physical player who did all the things that don’t always show up in the boxscore. He has been a great leader for us as well. Matt is a great story. He was recruited as a junior varsity player and worked his way into being a contributing varsity player. His hard work and perseverance paid off. These seniors will be hard to replace. They all contributed significantly to our team in different ways.”

Junior post Bryce Sanborn also moved into a starting role for the Cougars as he averaged 6.3 points and 6.2 rebounds while making 30 starts in 32 games. Sophomore guard Brandon Short also saw more significant action and contributed 7.2 points and 2.8 rebounds per contest. Junior wing Travis Brown (6.2 points), freshman guard Robbie Taylor (4.7 points), sophomore post Adam Grimm (4.5 points), freshman forward Ian Quick (2.5 points), freshman post Scott Hilbert (2.4 points), and sophomore wing Tim Radcliffe (1.6 points) rounded out the roster for MVNU.

"This team can be proud of its accomplishments,” said Flemming. "I counted it a privilege to be their coach.”