The visiting Trailblazers (9-13) got off to a good start in the game as William Lomax hit a three-pointer and Timothy Baker added a layup off a back-door cut for a quick 5-0 lead for Ohio Christian.

With the Trailblazers still holding a 13-12 lead at the 13:29 mark, MVNU (16-7) finally began to get its offense clicking as the Cougars went on a 23-7 run over the next seven minutes to build a 35-20 advantage with seven minutes left in the half. Sophomore post Adam Grimm (left) came off the bench and provided a spark with six points during the surge, while senior wing Andy Francis tossed in four points.

Five quick points by Baker and a jumper by Stefan Vasiloff closed the gap to 35-27 over the next 55 seconds, but MVNU answered with a 16-7 run to take its biggest lead of the half at 51-34 before a trey by Vasiloff sent the teams to the locker rooms with the Cougars in front 51-37.

Junior wing Travis Brown led MVNU with 11 first-half points off the bench as he went 4-for-5 from the field. Francis and senior guard Ben Falkenberg added seven points apiece, while senior guard Dan Borcherdt grabbed a career-high seven rebounds in the first half alone. The Cougars shot 46.3 percent from the field (19-for-41), 38.5 percent from three-point range (5-for-13), and 80.0 percent from the free throw line (8-for-10). They also out-rebounded Ohio Christian 27-14.

Vasiloff paced the Trailblazers with 10 first-half points, while Lomax and Baker added nine points apiece. Ohio Christian shot 43.8 percent from the field (14-for-32), 33.3 percent from three-point range (4-for-12), and 83.3 percent from the free throw line (5-for-6).

After Vasiloff opened the second half with a layup to edge the Trailblazers within 51-39, Borcherdt and Falkenberg each hit a three-pointer and Francis added a layup to push MVNU’s lead out to 59-39 at the 17:08 mark.

Four points by Ohio Christian closed the gap to 59-43 over the next 1:25, but nine straight points by the Cougars ballooned the lead out to 68-43 with 13:28 remaining and the rout was on.

The lead grew to as much as 47 points on two occasions with the first coming on a pair of free throws by freshman guard Robbie Taylor (right) that put MVNU over the century mark and excited the home crowd who all scored free french fries at the local McDonalds restaurant with the feat. With every player on the roster scoring at least three points and playing at least eight minutes, the Cougars cruised to the 107-63 victory.

“We were not sharp defensively in the first half tonight, but we pulled it together in the second half,” said MVNU coach Scott Flemming. “I thought offensively we shared the ball well tonight and executed our fastbreak and our half-court offense. We also had consistent play off our bench. It was a strong ending to a great week of basketball for our team. We are heading in the right direction down the stretch of our season.”

Taylor matched his career high with 14 points to lead the Cougars in just 12 minutes on the court as he went 4-for-4 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line to go with four assists. Brown and Grimm tossed in 13 points apiece off the bench as the MVNU reserves out-scored the entire Ohio Christian team 65-63. Falkenberg tallied 12 points with five assists, and Francis and Thomas both finished with 11 points apiece. Borcherdt and freshman forward Ian Quick both grabbed seven rebounds to lead the team in that category. The Cougars shot 50.0 percent from the field (38-for-76), 43.5 percent from three-point range (10-for-23), and 70.0 percent from the free throw line (21-for-30). They also held a commanding 53-26 advantage in rebounds.

Lomax paced the Trailblazers with a game-high 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting from the field, while Vasiloff added 15 points. Baker also scored nine points. Ohio Christian shot 39.7 percent from the field (23-for-58), 21.1 percent from three-point range (4-for-19), and 86.7 percent from the free throw line (13-for-15).

MVNU will look to continue its winning ways when the Cougars return to action on Tuesday with an American Mideast Conference road game at Shawnee State University. Tip-off is slated for 8:00 p.m.