The game went back and forth over the first 10 minutes with MVNU (16-3, 4-2 AMC South), which is ranked No. 6 in the latest NAIA Division II poll, holding a slim 11-10 advantage.

Then, three straight treys by Charles Jefferson gave the visiting Blue Knights (4-15, 2-4 AMC South) a 19-11 lead at the 9:10 mark.

Urbana still held a 24-17 advantage with 7:19 remaining before halftime, but a three-pointer each by junior guard Ben Falkenberg and senior forward Evan Yates closed the gap to 24-23 with 6:01 to play.

However, the Blue Knights were able to hold on to their lead as Urbana took a 34-30 cushion to the locker room at the break.

Falkenberg led the Cougars with eight points in the first half, while Yates added seven points off the bench. Junior guard Dan Borcherdt also connected on a pair of treys for six points, and freshman guard Brandon Short and sophomore post Bryce Sanborn (left) both grabbed four rebounds each off the bench. MVNU shot 47.6 percent from the field (10-for-21), 60.0 percent from three-point range (6-for-10), and 66.7 percent from the free throw line (4-for-6).

Jefferson paced the Blue Knights with nine points in the first half, while Dorian Hoover scored eight points and grabbed five rebounds off the bench. Urbana shot 40.6 percent from the field (13-for-32), 36.4 percent from three-point range (4-for-11), and made all four of its free throw attempts.

The Blue Knights still held a 40-36 lead when Short stole a pass at the 17:26 mark and was grabbed from behind to prevent an easy layup resulting in an intentional foul being called. He converted both free throw attempts, and senior center Connor Gregg threw down a dunk on the ensuing possession to knot the score at 40-40 with 17:14 to play.

Three ties and five lead changes later, a layup by Short (right) gave the Cougars the lead for good at 52-51 at the 12:37 mark. That basket was also the start of a 30-8 run over the next nine minutes that saw MVNU take its biggest lead of the game 80-59 with 3:18 remaining. Junior wing Andy Francis led the surge with seven points, while Short added six points including a steal and one-handed jam at the other end. Falkenberg and junior forward Jadin Thomas also scored five points apiece.

From there, the Cougars cruised to the 82-64 victory as MVNU extended its school-record winning streak to 22 straight games dating back to the beginning of last season.

“I thought our guys were ready to play tonight,” said MVNU head coach Scott Flemming. “We were out of sync offensively and had far too many uncontested turnovers (12) in the first half. Everything changed in the second half. We turned up our defense, rebounded the ball much better on the offensive end, cut our turnovers down to five, and played much better as a team offensively.”

“Our bench was great tonight,” Flemming added. “Bryce probably played his best game of the year, and Brandon, Evan, and (junior forward) Matt (McKinley) all gave us great minutes. We had seven players score eight or more points. That’s balance.”

Falkenberg led the Cougars with 16 points, while Short tossed in a career-high 12 points off the bench to go with four rebounds, three assists, and a career-high seven steals. Thomas finished with 11 points and five rebounds, and Francis and Borcherdt tallied nine points apiece with Borcherdt dishing out seven assists. Yates and Sanborn also contributed eight points each off the bench with Sanborn grabbing a career-high seven rebounds. MVNU shot 53.8 percent from the field (28-for-52), 55.0 percent from three-point range (11-for-20), and 75.0 percent from the free throw line (15-for-20).

Urbana was led by Hoover with 17 points and nine rebounds off the bench, while Jefferson finished with 13 points. Allen Drake also contributed eight points and seven rebounds. The Blue Knights shot 40.9 percent from the field (27-for-66), 29.4 percent from three-point range (5-for-17), and 55.6 percent from the free throw line (5-for-9).

The Cougars will return to action on Tuesday when MVNU will host Ohio Dominican University in another AMC South Division contest that will tip off at 7:30 p.m.