MVNU (14-2, 2-1 AMC South) got off to a miserable start as the Cougars missed their first nine shots and committed three turnovers as the host Cavaliers (14-2, 3-0 AMC South) scored the first 13 points of the game as Eder Araujo scored five points and Kyelce Cescato and Brandon Weems added four points apiece.

A pair of baskets by junior forward Jadin Thomas (left) and a jumper by junior wing Andy Francis helped MVNU pull within 17-6 with 12:37 left in the half. However, a three-pointer by Corey Jones and a basket each by Cescato and Araujo extended Walsh’s lead to 24-6 with 10:13 remaining before the break.

Trailing 30-15 with 4:46 to play in the half, the Cougars went on an 11-4 run to pull within 34-26 as the teams went to the locker room at the break. Junior guard Ben Falkenberg led the surge with nine points that included MVNU’s only four free throws of the game and a three-pointer.

Falkenberg led the Cougars with 12 first-half points, while Thomas added six points. MVNU shot just 30.3 percent from the field (10-for-33) and 20.0 percent from three-point range (2-for-10).

Araujo and Cescato scored 11 and 10 points respectively and grabbed seven rebounds apiece to pace the Cavaliers in the first half. Jones also added nine points with a trio of treys. Walsh shot 40.6 percent from the field (13-for-32), 28.6 percent from three-point range (4-for-14), and made all four of its free throw attempts.

The second half started much the same as the first half as the Cavaliers scored the first nine points to push the lead back to 43-26 with two and a half minutes gone by as Cescato made two baskets and Brandon Weems drained a three-pointer.

A three-pointer by junior guard Dan Borcherdt at the 17:22 mark got the Cougars on the board in the second half and started a 20-4 run that pulled MVNU within 47-46 with 11:01 still left on the clock. Thomas, Francis, and junior forward Matt McKinley (right) each added a trey to help the comeback.

From there, the game stayed close the rest of the way as Walsh maintained the lead the whole way. The Cavaliers led by as much as six points on four occasions with the final time coming 71-65 with 1:58 to play.

Meanwhile, the Cougars were able to get within one point four different times including 71-70 with 54 seconds to play following a jumper by Thomas and a three-pointer by Francis.

A shot clock violation with 18 seconds to go gave MVNU the ball and a chance to take its first lead of the game. However, with Walsh having been whistled for just one foul in the half, the Cavaliers committed one with 11 seconds to go to keep the Cougars from getting a shot off.

Then, after the inbounds pass, MVNU turned the ball over with 6.2 seconds to go and was forced to foul. Josh Johnson hit both free throws to extend the lead to 73-70.

The Cougars elected to throw a long pass on the inbounds and once again turned it over with Johnson going to the line for two more free throws with two seconds left to make the final score 75-70.

“When you play a team like Walsh, you need to play 40 minutes of basketball,” said MVNU head coach Scott Flemming. “We did not do that tonight. I am very disappointed in how we started the game. It was a struggle most of the first half.”

“On the other side, we played with a lot of heart in the second half,” said Flemming. “We came up a little short. We were in a tough position in the end. They only had one foul and they were going to foul us right away. We tried to run something where we could catch and shoot. We can take some positives and negatives from this game.”

Falkenberg (left) led MVNU with 21 points and six assists, while Thomas added 13 points and eight rebounds. Francis and McKinley each finished with 10 points apiece, and senior post Connor Gregg tossed in eight points with five rebounds. The Cougars shot 43.8 percent from the field for the game (28-for-64), 43.5 percent from three-point range (10-for-23), and finished 4-for-4 at the free throw line - all coming in the first half. MVNU also scored 18 points off of 11 Walsh turnovers.

Araujo, a 7-footer, led the Cavaliers with 25 points and 13 rebounds, while Cescato at 6-foot-10 added 14 points and seven rebounds as the duo combined to go 17-for-26 from the field. Jones also tossed in 14 points with four treys, while Weems and Johnson both finished with 11 points apiece with Weems dishing out a game-high 10 assists. Walsh shot 46.7 percent from the field (28-for-60), 30.0 percent from three-point range (6-for-20), and went 13-for-13 from the free throw line including 9-for-9 in the second half.

The Cougars will look to bounce back on Saturday when MVNU will host Shawnee State University in another AMC South Division game that will begin at 7:30 p.m.