After Notre Dame (15-6, 4-1 AMC) scored the first four points of the game on a layup and dunk by Eric Dummermuth, the Cougars (13-7, 3-3 AMC) used a 13-3 run to take a 13-7 lead just five minutes into the game. Senior forward Jadin Thomas led the way with four points, while senior wing Andy Francis (left) nailed a three-pointer.

The Falcons, who entered the game on a five-game winning streak, pulled within 13-12 on a trey by Nick McCartney and a jumper by Karim McFarlane, but MVNU answered with a 19-5 run to take a 32-17 lead with 7:33 remaining in the half. Francis, junior wing Travis Brown, and senior guard Ben Falkenberg each nailed a three-pointer, while senior forward Matt McKinley came off the bench and tossed in four points.

Notre Dame began to chip away at the lead the rest of the half and a running three-pointer from just beyond halfcourt by McCartney beat the halftime buzzer to pull the Falcons within 38-31 heading to the break.

Thomas led the Cougars with eight points in the first half, while McKinley and Francis added six points apiece. MVNU shot 47.1 percent from the field (16-for-34), 40.0 percent from three-point range (4-for-10), and 40.0 percent from the free throw line (2-for-5). The Cougars out-rebounded Notre Dame 23-19 and committed just four first-half turnovers.

Dummermuth led the Falcons with nine points and five rebounds in the first half, while Dan Jones added seven points. Notre Dame shot 38.2 percent from the field (13-for-34), 36.4 percent from three-point range (4-for-11), and 50.0 percent at the free throw line (1-for-2).

A pair of free throws by Steve Savel to start the second half helped the Falcons trim the deficit to 38-33, but Thomas made two free throws of his own and junior post Bryce Sanborn made a layup as MVNU’s lead grew back to 42-33.

After McFarlane made a jumper, Thomas hit a basket and Falkenberg drained a three-pointer to push the Cougars’ advantage out to 47-35 with 15:50 to play.

A layup by McFarlane and a pair of free throws by Eric Maag closed the gap to 47-39 for Notre Dame, but Brown (right) scored five points and Thomas nailed two more free throws to extend the lead back to 54-41 for MVNU with 11:55 remaining.

A 10-4 run by the Falcons pulled them within 58-51 with 7:55 to go, but back-to-back three-pointers by McKinley and Falkenberg and a jumper by Thomas fueiled a quick 8-0 run for the Cougars as they pushed the lead back to 66-51 with 5:57 left.

Notre Dame continued to battle and got within 69-61 with 2:26 still on the clock on a layup by Jones.

The Falcons then began to foul to try to draw even closer, but they sent the leading free throw shooter in all of NAIA Division II to the line in Falkenberg. After making his first free throw attempt to run his consecutive made streak to 28 in a row, the 94.3 percent shooter missed his second attempt. However, he tracked down the long rebound and hit a three-pointer to push the lead up to 73-61 with 1:47 to go.

MVNU would then proceed to go 7-for-8 at the free throw line the rest of the way as the Cougars closed out the 80-67 victory.

“It was great to bounce back tonight,” said MVNU coach Scott Flemming. “This was a quality win against a team that had been very hot. We did a good job of sharing the ball. That is more like Cougar basketball when you see 17 assists and only nine turnovers. I thought we had great bench play tonight. Matt and Travis, in particular, did well. We are moving in the right direction.”

Falkenberg led the Cougars with 17 points, while Thomas added 16 points and six rebounds. Brown came off the bench to score 14 points and grab six rebounds and a game-high four steals, and McKinley (left) tallied nine points on 4-for-5 shooting from the field to go with five rebounds. Borcherdt also handed out a career-high nine assists to go with six points, while Francis contributed eight points and seven rebounds. MVNU shot 44.4 percent from the field (28-for-63), 35.7 percent from three-point range (10-for-28), and 66.7 percent from the free throw line (14-for-21). The Cougars forced 16 turnovers with just nine miscues themselves.

Jones led the Falcons with 19 points and seven rebounds, while Dummermuth finished with 16 points and nine rebounds. McFarlane also registered 15 points, nine rebounds, and three blocked shots. Notre Dame shot 42.9 percent from the field (27-for-63), 31.2 percent from three-point range (5-for-16), and 61.5 percent from the free throw line (8-for-13). The Falcons held a slim 40-38 rebounding advantage.

The Cougars will have the rest of the week off before returning to action next Tuesday with an important AMC game at Ohio Dominican University at 7:30 p.m. The Panthers defeated MVNU 86-76 earlier this year in a non-conference game.