The game went back and forth over the first five and a half minutes with four ties and two lead changes with the score knotted at 8-8. Then, the visiting Cougars of Spring Arbor (3-1) went on an 18-8 run to build a 26-16 lead with 6:14 remaining before halftime. Willie Pickvet led the surge with five points, Richard Blair added four points, and Kevin Ludwig nailed a three-pointer.

With Spring Arbor leading 33-25 with 3:38 left in the half, junior forwards Jadin Thomas and Andy Francis both scored a basket and junior guard Dan Borcherdt (left) drained a three-pointer to pull MVNU (2-0) within 33-32 with 48 seconds still on the clock. However, Darby Decker hit a free throw and then made a basket off an offensive rebound on the missed second free throw to extend Spring Arbor’s lead to 36-32 at the break.

Borcherdt and junior guard Ben Falkenberg both scored eight first-half points to pace MVNU, which shot 56.0 percent from the field (14-for-25) but went just 2-for-8 at the free throw line and committed nine turnovers.

Ludwig scored on a layup to start the second half for Spring Arbor to make it 38-32 in favor of the visiting Cougars. Spring Arbor still held a 41-37 advantage at the 16:01 mark following another layup by Ludwig.

Then, the host MVNU Cougars kicked things into gear and roared off on a 31-13 run to take a 68-54 lead with 3:54 to play. Thomas and junior forward Matt McKinley started the comeback with three points each, while Falkenberg scored 10 points and senior forward Evan Yates (right) added seven points.

From that point on, MVNU held at least a double digit lead as the Cougars prevailed 73-61 to improve to 2-0 on the season while handing Spring Arbor its first loss.

Falkenberg finished with 21 points, four assists, and five steals to lead MVNU, while Borcherdt added 15 points, three assists, and four steals. Thomas and Yates both contributed 10 points and six rebounds apiece, and senior post Connor Gregg recorded eight points and a game-high eight rebounds. The Cougars shot 55.6 percent from the field (25-for-45) and finished 17-for-28 at the free throw line (60.7 percent).

Ludwig led Spring Arbor with 18 points, while Blair tallied 10 points. The visiting Cougars shot 41.1 percent from the field (23-for-56) including just 30.8 percent in the second half (8-for-26).

MVNU will return to action on Tuesday when the Cougars will travel to Ohio Christian University for a non-conference game that will tip-off at 7:30 p.m.