MVNU (22-5, 9-4 AMC South), which received votes in the latest NAIA Division II poll, jumped out to an early 13-8 lead over the first six minutes as junior guard Dan Borcherdt (left) scored five points and senior post Connor Gregg and junior forward Jadin Thomas both added four points apiece.

Two layups by Will Norwell and a three-pointer by Jordan Lower gave the visiting Redmen (8-19, 3-10 AMC South) a 15-13 at the 10:47 mark thanks to the quick 7-0 spurt.

With Rio Grande holding a 19-17 advantage, the Cougars went on a 22-8 run to take a 39-27 lead with 1:42 left before the half. Freshman guard Brandon Short provided a spark off the bench with six points, while Thomas and Gregg scored four points apiece and Borcherdt and junior guard Ben Falkenberg each nailed a three-pointer.

A three-pointer by Lower with four seconds remaining pulled the Redmen within 39-30 as the teams went to the locker rooms at the break.

Gregg led MVNU with 10 points and four rebounds in the first half, while Borcherdt and Thomas added eight points apiece with Thomas grabbing seven rebounds. The Cougars shot 53.6 percent from the field (15-for-28), 33.3 percent from three-point range (3-for-9), and 85.7 percent from the free throw line (6-for-7). MVNU also held a 22-14 rebounding advantage.

P.J. Rase paced Rio Grande with 12 first-half points, while Lower added six points on a pair of treys off the bench. The Redmen shot 38.2 percent from the field (13-for-34), 40.0 percent from three-point range (4-for-10), and missed both of their free throw attempts. Rio Grande also committed just four turnovers to eight for the Cougars.

The second half went back and forth to start with MVNU holding a 51-43 lead at the 15:13 mark. Then, the Cougars went on a 26-11 run to take its biggest lead of the game at 77-54 with 7:36 to play. Falkenberg (right) led the surge with 12 points, while Borcherdt added 10 points.

From that point on, MVNU held at least a 14-point lead the rest of the way as everyone on the Cougars’ roster played at least three minutes down the stretch as MVNU posted the important 94-78 victory.

“This was another solid win for us tonight,” said MVNU head coach Scott Flemming. “We had good balance with our inside-outside game. Both Connor and Jadin were effective inside. Dan had one of his best games since he has been here. He was finding the open man while also knocking down his perimeter shots.”

“I was very happy to see us play well on Evan’s and Connor’s Senior Night,” Flemming added. “When we lost our last game, our goal was to win out the rest of the regular season. We have now won five in a row with one more to reach that goal.”

Borcherdt led the Cougars with a career-high 23 points to go with a career-high eight assists and no turnovers as he nailed six three-pointers and also grabbed four rebounds. Thomas (left) added a double-double of 23 points and 11 rebounds with three blocked shots, and Falkenberg finished with 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field. Gregg tossed in 14 points with eight rebounds, and Short contributed eight points off the bench. MVNU shot 57.1 percent from the field (36-for-63), 42.9 percent from three-point range (9-for-21), and 65.0 percent from the free throw line (13-for-20). The Cougars also held a 39-32 edge in rebounds.

Rase led Rio Grande with 19 points, while Norwell tallied 14 points and eight rebounds. Lower tossed in 12 points off the bench, and Aaron Drakeford contributed 10 points and six assists. Brett Beucler, who entered the game needing five points to reach 1,000 points for his career, scored just four points and stands at 999 career points heading into Saturday’s season finale against Cedarville University. The Redmen, who played without leading scorer and rebounder Brandon Ivery who missed the game with the flu, shot 44.9 percent from the field (31-for-69), 33.3 percent from three-point range (6-for-18), and 76.9 percent from the free throw line (10-for-13).

With the victory, MVNU has clinched a spot in the upcoming AMC Tournament that gets under way next week. Cedarville University and Ohio Dominican University also locked up spots from the AMC South Division with wins on Tuesday, while the AMC North Division spots are still up for grabs heading into Saturday’s games.

The Cougars will close out the regular season on Saturday with a 4:00 p.m. game at Ohio Dominican. MVNU will most likely lock up the No. 2 seed in the AMC Tournament with a win on Saturday, while the Cougars could fall in the seeding and might even have to play all of their playoff games on the road with a loss against the Panthers, who defeated MVNU 80-72 back on January 29 to snap the Cougars’ school-record 22-game home winning streak.