On Tuesday night, those struggles continued as MVNU (15-3, 3-2 AMC South), which is ranked fifth in the latest NAIA Division II poll, fell 81-67 to the Redmen (7-12, 2-3 AMC South) to go to 16-50 all-time in the series with only six victories ever coming at Newt Oliver Arena.

Rio Grande, which never trailed in the game, jumped out to a 19-9 lead over the first eight and a half minutes as Will Norwell scored seven points and P.J. Rase and Kory Valentine each nailed a three-pointer.

After the Cougars closed the gap to 19-16 with seven straight points, the Redmen went on a 25-13 run to close the half and take a 44-29 lead at the break.

Junior guard Ben Falkenberg led MVNU with 14 first-half points, while freshman guard Brandon Short (left) tossed in five points off the bench. The Cougars shot just 35.7 percent from the field (10-for-28), 14.3 percent from three-point range (1-for-7), and 80.0 percent from the free throw line (8-for-10). MVNU also committed 10 first-half turnovers and gave up nine offensive rebounds.

Norwell and Rase each scored 13 first-half points to pace Rio Grande, while Brandon Ivery added seven points and five rebounds off the bench. The Redmen shot 51.4 percent from the field (18-for-35), 40.0 percent from three-point range (4-for-10), and made all four of their free throw attempts.

After Norwell hit a basket to expand the lead to 46-29 to start the second half, the Cougars rattled off eight straight points to close the gap to 46-37 with 17:59 to play.

With the score 48-39 at the 16:33 mark, Rio Grande went on a 17-5 run to take its biggest lead of the game at 65-44 at the 10:21 mark. Ivery led the surge with eight points, while Norwell added four points and Aaron Drakeford nailed a three-pointer.

MVNU kept battling and tried to rally as a 19-8 run pulled the Cougars within 73-63 with 2:41 to go as Falkenberg hit a pair of three-pointers and junior forward Jadin Thomas scored four points.

However, that would be as close as MVNU would get as the Redmen held on for the 81-67 victory.

“(Rio Grande) clearly out-played us tonight in most areas,” said MVNU head coach Scott Flemming. “We made some short runs, but we just could not turn the corner. It was a very physical game and they took advantage of that.”

“We did not have an answer for their post players even with all the approaches we tried,” Flemming added. “Norwell has really improved. He used his big body well. We have several parts of our game that have slipped some. We will work hard to get them back to where they need to be.”

Falkenberg (right) finished with a game-high 27 points to lead the Cougars, while Thomas added 10 points and six rebounds. Short tossed in nine points off the bench, and junior guard Dan Borcherdt tallied seven points. MVNU shot 42.1 percent from the field (24-for-57), 23.5 percent from three-point range (4-for-17), and 83.3 percent from the free throw line (15-for-18).

Rio Grande was led by Norwell with 23 points and six rebounds, while Ivery added 19 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists off the bench. Rase finished with 15 points and six rebounds, and Drakeford contributed 13 points. The Redmen shot 49.3 percent from the field (35-for-71), 31.2 percent from three-point range (5-for-16), and 75.0 percent from the free throw line (6-for-8). Rio Grande also posted a 40-31 rebounding advantage with 22 offensive rebounds.

MVNU will look to return to its winning ways on Saturday when the Cougars will host Urbana University in another conference game that will tip off at 7:30 p.m. Urbana is coming off a 70-64 win at No. 2 Walsh University on Tuesday that snapped the Cavaliers’ 21-game home winning streak.