The first half was a great back-and-forth affair as their were five ties and 13 lead changes over the first 20 minutes. Oregon Tech (27-6) held the biggest lead of the first half at 37-31 following a three-pointer by Ryan Beesley with 3:13 left before the break.

However, MVNU (23-8) closed the half on a 10-2 run to take a 41-39 advantage to the locker room at the intermission. Junior guard Ben Falkenberg and junior wing Andy Francis both scored five points apiece to fuel the comeback.

Junior guard Dan Borcherdt (left) led the Cougars at the break with 12 first-half points as he went 4-for-8 from three-point range. Falkenberg and senior post Connor Gregg added 10 points apiece, while Francis tossed in seven points. MVNU shot 55.6 percent from the field (15-for-27), 46.7 percent from three-point range (7-for-15), and 100 percent at the free throw line (4-for-4). The Cougars also held a 13-0 advantage in points off turnovers.

The Hustlin’ Owls were led by Ryan Fiegi with eight points on 4-for-5 shooting. However, Fiegi was injured at the 11:48 mark as he suffered a dislocated right kneecap and was forced to miss the rest of the half. Jguwon Hogges and Christian Cavanaugh added six points apiece. Oregon Tech shot 54.8 percent from the field (17-for-31), 23.1 percent from three-point range (3-for-13), and 100 percent from the free throw line (2-for-2).

The two teams traded baskets to start the second half and then MVNU was able to build its biggest lead of the game at 48-43 and had possession of the ball with just under 17 minutes left to play and a chance for the Cougars to expand their lead.

However, the Hustlin’ Owls, who are 10-0 all-time in the first round of the NAIA Division II National Tournament, used a 7-0 run to take a 50-48 lead with 15:14 remaining.

After MVNU regained the lead 55-54 on a basket by junior forward Jadin Thomas with 11:44 to go, Oregon Tech used a 19-5 run to build a commanding 73-60 cushion with 3:43 left. Seven different players scored for the Hustlin’ Owls during the surge with Fiegi, Hogges, and Myles Daley each scoring four points apiece.

With their backs against the wall, the Cougars did not give up. Falkenberg (right), who did not start the game due to being hobbled by a foot injury that had him on crutches just one day earlier, scored MVNU’s next 10 points to fuel a 10-2 run to close the gap to 75-70 with 1:46 still on the clock.

After Hogges missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw opportunity for Oregon Tech, senior forward Evan Yates hit a pair of free throws to pull MVNU within 75-72 with 1:24 remaining.

A basket by Fiegi pushed the lead back to 77-72 for the Hustlin’ Owls, but Falkenberg’s driving layup with 56 seconds left pulled the Cougars to 77-74.

Fiegi was fouled with 21 seconds remaining. He missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity, but Daley grabbed the offensive rebound. However, Falkenberg stole the ball and MVNU had one last opportunity to try and send the game into overtime.

With time winding down, Falkenberg’s off-balance three-point attempt rimmed out. Yates grabbed the offensive rebound and fired up a desperation attempt at the buzzer as Oregon Tech held on for the 77-74 victory to advance to the second round.

Falkenberg finished with a game-high 22 points despite not being 100 percent. He finishes the season just three points shy of 2,000 for his career as he moved into fifth place on the MVNU all-time scoring list with 1,997 points to move past former Cougar standout Adam Stevens, who had 1,995 points from 1996-2000. Falkenberg was 7-for-17 from the field including 4-for-8 from three-point range and he also dished out a team-high four assists with no turnovers.

Borcherdt had a solid game for MVNU with 15 points as he went 5-for-10 from three-point range and registered three steals. Gregg (left) closed out his career with 10 points and five rebounds, while Thomas and Francis added nine points apiece. Yates grabbed four rebounds in the finale of his career, and freshman guard Brandon Short contributed five rebounds and five points before fouling out. The Cougars shot 50.9 percent from the field for the game (27-for-53), 44.0 percent from three-point range (11-for-25), and 69.2 percent from the free throw line (9-for-13). MVNU held a 23-10 advantage in points off turnovers, but the Cougars allowed 19 second-chance points as the result of giving up 11 offensive rebounds.

“Under the circumstances, I thought we had a strong showing tonight,” said MVNU head coach Scott Flemming. “When you come that close, it is frustrating not to finish it out. When we were down 13 with just under four minutes to go, it didn't look good. Our guys really battled to put us in a position to have a game-tying shot. Dan came out and was hot from the perimeter in the first half. He stepped up like he did last year in the National Tournament. Ben was able to still make plays even though he was not at full strength. I thought Connor and Evan both contributed in a big way in their last game.”

Fiegi, who returned from the knee injury to play the entire second half, led the Hustlin’ Owls with 18 points and five assists. Hogges added 14 points, while Daley tossed in 12 points off the bench. Josh Wetzler also contributed six rebounds and five assists. Oregon Tech shot a blistering 56.9 percent from the field (33-for-58), 21.1 percent from three-point range (4-for-19), and 70.0 percent from the free throw line (7-for-10). The Hustlin’ Owls will advance to face No. 6 seed Evangel (Mo.) University in the second round on Friday.

“I am really proud of this team,” said Flemming, who guided the Cougars to the National Tournament for the third straight year and the seventh time overall. “We reached a level of play that I am not sure many expected. This is another season we can build on and be proud of.”