Throughout the course of the 2011-2012 season, MVNU sophomore forward Caleb Williams will write a weekly blog about what is happening with the team.

"Too Close for Comfort" (posted on January 31, 2012)

This past week was an interesting week for Cougar basketball. We had two games - one at home and one on the road. We needed to try to regain the momentum we had before losing our last two contests. Both games were very exciting and came down to the end. One went in our favor and the other did not unfortunately.

On Tuesday, Taylor University traveled to MVNU. Taylor is a good team who had been struggling recently, but they have one of the top scorers in the conference. Taylor executes their offense incredibly well, so we knew we were going to have to be focused on the defensive end. We played well in the first half and led most of the way. It was really important for us that we got off to a good start. Taylor made a good run to close the gap and tie the game as we headed to the half.

The coaches designed a great defensive scheme to defend Taylor's ball screen action which is their main weapon in their offensive system. The second half went back and forth and Taylor took its first lead about 5 minutes into the second half. Taylor built their lead to as big as 6 points, but we continued to fight and closed the gap as we neared the last 5 minutes of the game. We knew this game was going to come down to us making a defensive stop and it did as Austin Semple hit two free throws to put us up by 1 in the closing seconds. Taylor had the ball and we got that stop we knew we were going to have to make. After making two more free throws, our lead grew to 3 points. When Taylor got the ball back, we fouled them so that they could not hit a 3 and tie the game. They made their first free throw and then tried to intentionally miss their second free throw attempt so they could get a rebound and either tie or win the game. However, one of their guys entered the lane before the ball was released and it gave the ball to us and we closed the game and got the victory. Now, we looked forward to playing Indiana Wesleyan on Saturday because we felt that we had some unfinished business against them.

When we played IWU the first time around, they were ranked #1 in the nation and were undefeated, but we lead the whole game without our floor general Rob Taylor only to see them win the game in the final minutes. We all felt like we let that game slip away and we were ready to return the favor. IWU had struggled since our first meeting, was no longer ranked, and had slipped to the middle of the MCC standings, but they are an extremely talented team who have all the pieces to be an outstanding team. We started well with the help of Austin Semple who scored 10 quick points. We took our first lead midway through the first half and from there on out the game went back and forth. We made a run to close the first half and took a 5-point lead to the locker room.

We continued our run into the second half extending our lead to 10 with about 15 minutes left in the contest. Then, our foul trouble, especially at the post position, started to become a problem. We were already down a post player as I was unable to play due to a hand injury I suffered during Thursday's practice. Zach Zeltman, Danil Zakhlebnyy, and Josh Weikart all fouled out in regulation. Marshall Crum was our only true post player left. IWU took a 4-point lead with 2 minutes left to play, but we continued to compete and we tied the game up and sent the game to overtime. Rob Taylor made huge plays in the closing moments of the game and it was awesome to see him take over like he did.

We started out the second overtime well and took a 4-point lead. (Overtime periods last 5 minutes) IWU battled back and tied the game on a free throw to send us to the second overtime. Foul trouble bit us again in the second overtime as Austin Semple picked up his fifth foul. He had played an awesome game and scored 30 points. At this point, Garrison Hinkle was the only player left on our bench. The second overtime went back and forth and Rob "Big Shot Bob" Taylor hit two free throws with 0.9 seconds left to send us to a third overtime. This game was unbelievable, the crowd was into it, and it was an awesome atmosphere. We went into the third overtime with only one guy left on the bench and 3 guys who had played the entire second half. We were fatigued, but we continued to compete. They started the third overtime on a 6-0 run, but instead of giving up we fought back and pulled back within 2.

An interesting side story developed here. During the third overtime, Marshall picked up his fourth foul, which meant that Rob and Marshall both had 4 fouls and only Garrison was left on the bench. It was at this point that Coach told me to go to the locker room and change into my uniform in case we went to a fourth overtime and both Rob and Marshall fouled out. So, I sprinted into the locker room and changed from my dress shoes, khaki's and polo into my uniform. However I did not bring my basketball shoes, and had to wear my worn out New Balance Running shoes with my uniform. It was ridiculous. Unfortunately the fourth overtime was not needed and IWU closed out the game on a late three to put them up 5 with only a few seconds to play.

This was game unlike any I had ever been apart of and unfortunately for me I was unable to help my teammates on the court and that was hard for me. However, this team showed so much heart and guts. We had multiple guys play over 40 minutes in the game. Rob Taylor played all but 7 seconds in the game - he competed for 55 minutes! (Our SID did some research and saw that the game against IWU was the third-longest game in the history of MVNU men's basketball.) It was a proud day to be a member of this team and a game I will never forget.

The Week Ahead:

We continue MCC play this week as we play Bethel and Huntington. Tuesday, we play Bethel at home and that is a 6:00 start which is an hour earlier than most Tuesday night games. On Saturday, we travel to Huntington University to square off against the Foresters. This game is scheduled to start at 3:00. If anyone is planning on coming to the game Saturday at Huntington, there is going to be an MVNU Tailgate party hosted by Pat Cox. It will consist of all you can eat free pizza and pop, and a t-shirt. Pat would love to have everyone come and enjoy the party. If your interested, please contact me (my contact information is below) and I can give you more detailed information.

Continue to check out the MVNU Cougar Hoops YouTube Page for new uploads!

Peace be the Journey,
Caleb Williams #5

Feedback is always welcomed, so feel free to email me at cwilli10@mail.mvnu.edu or follow me on Twitter: @5CWill.

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