At the start of the game, it did not look like any late-game heroics would be necessary as the Cougars (11-1) jumped out to a quick 18-5 lead over the first nine minutes as six different players scored and junior wing Andy Francis led the way with a pair of three-pointers and junior forward Jadin Thomas (left) added four points.

However, with MVNU, which is ranked seventh in the latest NAIA Division II poll, leading 20-8 at the 9:44 mark, the host Raiders (4-8) used a 33-15 run to close the half as Roberts Wesleyan took a 41-35 lead to the locker room at the break.

Falkenberg led the Cougars with nine first-half points, while senior forward Evan Yates tossed in seven points off the bench. Francis and Thomas also contributed six points apiece, and sophomore guard Josh Taguiam, junior forward Matt McKinley, and sophomore post Bryce Sanborn all played valuable minutes off the bench as MVNU was forced to juggle its lineup with starting point guard Dan Borcherdt out with an injury. The Cougars shot just 30.8 percent from the field (8-for-26), 45.5 percent from three-point range (5-for-11), and 82.4 percent from the free throw line (14-for-17). They also committed 13 first-half turnovers.

Benjamin Lewis paced the Raiders with 13 first-half points that included a trio of three-pointers. Jemel Williams and Jake Liebman added eight and seven points respectively, and Roberts Wesleyan shot 48.4 percent from the field (15-for-31), 47.4 percent from three-point range (9-for-19), and 50.0 percent at the free throw line (2-for-4).

A three-point play by Williams at the 18:50 mark of the second half extended the Raiders’ lead to 44-37 as Roberts Wesleyan continued its surge from the first half.

However, an 11-0 run by the Cougars put MVNU back on top 48-44 with 15:41 left following a three-point play by freshman guard Brandon Short. Thomas added five points during the run, while Francis (right) nailed his third trey of the game.

From there, the game went back and forth with neither team leading by more than five points the rest of the way.

With the Cougars holding a 73-68 advantage with 2:39 to play, Roberts Wesleyan scored six straight points to take a 74-73 lead with 18 seconds remaining. MVNU missed five field goal attempts during that stretch, and Falkenberg, who entered the game shooting 92.3 percent at the free throw line, missed a pair of free throw attempts.

However, with time winding down, Falkenberg came up big when it mattered the most as he nailed a three-pointer from the corner with 0.1 second remaining to give the Cougars the hard-fought 76-74 victory.

“I was afraid that my (missed) free throws were going to cost us the game,” said Falkenberg. “I didn’t play very well tonight, but I guess the shot at the end made up for some of it as we were able to get the win. All the guys played so hard to pull this out. Jadin was huge for us, and the guys off the bench really came through.”

“Our guys really battled tonight,” said MVNU head coach Scott Flemming. “We found out right before the game that Dan couldn’t play because of an injury. Not only did we miss him, but we had to play several people in positions they usually don’t play in.”

“Jadin was a force inside tonight,” Flemming continued. “He carried us for awhile on both ends. Brandon did a great job of stepping in at the point, and Josh gave us some quality minutes. This is really Josh’s first chance to be in there since coming up from the junior varsity team. Obviously, Ben hit a big shot at crunch time. You need a few wins like this.”

Thomas finished with a double-double of career highs with 21 points and 15 rebounds to lead MVNU. Falkenberg (left) added 19 points, a career-high six rebounds, and four assists, and Francis finished with 11 points. Yates tossed in 10 points off the bench, while Short, who was making his first collegiate start in place of Borcherdt, tallied eight points and four rebounds. Sanborn and McKinley also contributed four and three points respectively off the bench. The Cougars shot 37.9 percent from the field (22-for-58), 44.4 percent from three-point range (8-for-18), and 70.6 percent from the free throw line (24-for-34). Thomas’ rebounding also helped MVNU to a 44-33 advantage on the boards.

Williams finished with 18 points to lead five Roberts Wesleyan players in double figures. Lewis added 15 points, while Brandon Jones and Mark Saladzius tossed in 12 and 11 points respectively. Liebman also finished with 10 points and six rebounds. The Raiders shot 45.2 percent from the field (28-for-62), 42.9 percent from three-point range (12-for-28), and 54.5 percent from the free throw line (6-for-11). Roberts Wesleyan also held a 30-17 advantage in bench scoring.

It will be a quick turnaround for the Cougars as they will return to action at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday with a non-conference game at Houghton (N.Y.) College. The Highlanders are coming off an 86-68 loss to Ohio Dominican University on Friday night.