The game was back and forth at the start with Sonny Stattmiller scoring the Panthers’ first eight points, while senior forward Jadin Thomas (left) had four points and senior guard Ben Falkenberg nailed a three-pointer to lead MVNU (14-7, 4-3 AMC) as the score was knotted at 11-11 after the first 5:20 of action.

At that point, Zak Kapron came off the bench to score five points and help fuel an 18-10 run for Ohio Dominican (11-12, 4-4 AMC) that gave the Panthers a 29-21 advantage with 8:23 left in the half.

A 7-2 run by the Cougars pulled MVNU within 31-28 with 4:18 left before the break on a layup by senior wing Andy Francis, but Ohio Dominican closed the half on an 11-4 run of its own to take a 42-32 lead at the break as Dominic Russo drained a pair of three-pointers and Bryan West converted a three-point play.

Thomas led the Cougars with nine points and 10 rebounds in the first half, while Falkenberg added nine points with a trio of treys. MVNU shot 41.4 percent from the field (12-for-29), 36.4 percent from three-point range (4-for-11), and 66.7 percent from the free throw line (4-for-6).

Stattmiller paced the Panthers with 10 points, while West added eight points. Ohio Domiican shot 50.0 percent from the field (16-for-32), 41.7 percent from three-point range (5-for-12), and made all five of its free throw attempts.

The Cougars got off to a good start in the second half as Thomas drained a three-pointer on the team’s first possession and then hit a jumper on the next trip to trim the lead to 42-37 with just 1:17 gone by in the final period.

However, a 9-3 run by the Panthers pushed the lead back to 51-40 at the 14:26 mark as West scored four points and Donald Suel went 3-for-3 at the free throw line.

With MVNU trailing 58-47 with 9:55 to go in the game, Falkenberg converted his fourth four-point play of the season and nailed another three-pointer, while Thomas scored on a layup and blocked two shots to pull the Cougars within 59-56 in the span of just 1:21.

Ohio Dominican extended its lead back out to 63-56 with 6:51 remaining, but MVNU used a 12-3 run to take the lead 68-66 with 3:40 to go on a three-point play by Falkenberg, who also hit another three-pointer during the comeback. Junior wing Travis Brown also added a pair of baskets off the bench.

The Panthers appeared to be unfazed by all the momentum that the Cougars were gaining as Adriene Rodriguez answered with a three-pointer on the next possession and then Shawn Steward blocked a shot and made a layup as Ohio Dominican regained the lead 71-68 with 2:42 to play.

Francis and Suel both went 1-for-2 at the free throw line for their respective teams as the score stood at 72-69 with 1:16 to play in favor of the Panthers.

MVNU had a chance to pull closer, but Francis missed two free throws with 55 seconds to go. Fortunately for the Cougars, though, Thomas grabbed the rebound off the second miss and laid it back in to close the gap to 72-71 with 53 seconds left.

After Steward missed a jumper for Ohio Dominican, Thomas nailed his third three-pointer of the night to put MVNU back in front 74-72 with 27 seconds remaining.

Suel answered for the Panthers with a layup with just under 14 seconds on the clock to knot the score at 74-74. However, when the ball was tossed inbounds by the Cougars, Stattmiller inexplicably fouled Falkenberg (right) with 12.9 seconds to go.

Falkenberg, who is the leading free throw shooter in NAIA Division II at 93.3 percent, calmly hit both free throws to give MVNU a 76-74 advantage.

Then, with time winding down, Suel's potential game-tying jumper was off the mark, and sophomore guard Brandon Short grabbed the rebound as the buzzer sounded to secure the important come-from-behind victory for the Cougars.

“At halftime, we talked about playing with more effort and heart,” said MVNU coach Scott Flemming. “I am so proud of these guys because they responded in the second half. Some of it was execution, but most of it was hard work and heart. This is our biggest win of the year. We’ve played some more talented teams, but this is a conference win on the road. (This win) was important for us to move up in the conference standings.”

“This was one of Jadin’s best wins since he’s been here,” said Flemming. “He was a force on the boards and hit some big shots for us tonight. This comeback took everyone working together to happen. Hopefully, this will propel us to even bigger wins.”

Thomas finished with 26 points, a career-high 19 rebounds (only four off the school record of 23 set by Art Freeman in 1977 against Bluffton College), and four blocked shots. Falkenberg also scored 26 points as he went 6-for-10 from three-point range. Francis and senior guard Dan Borcherdt added seven points apiece, while Short dished out four assists off the bench. The Cougars shot 46.7 percent from the field (28-for-60), 40.0 percent from three-point range (10-for-25), and 58.8 percent from the free throw line (10-for-17). Thanks in large part to Thomas’ effort, MVNU also out-rebounded the Panthers 39-33.

Suel led Ohio Dominican with 14 points, while Russo finished with 13 points. West added 12 points and seven rebounds, and Stattmiller totaled 10 points with eight of them coming in the first 2:01 of the game. The Panthers shot 46.7 percent from the field (28-for-60), 41.2 percent from three-point range (7-for-17), and 73.3 percent from the free throw line (11-for-15).

MVNU will not have much time to savor the victory as the Cougars will travel to NAIA Division II No. 1 Cedarville University for a non-conference game on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. The Yellow Jackets, who have won 14 straight games, are currently 22-1 overall.