MVNU (6-3), which is ranked No. 7 in the latest NAIA Division II poll, held a slim 7-5 lead after the first three minutes of action. Then, the Cougars went on a 54-20 run to close the half on the way to building a commanding 61-25 lead at the break that was punctuated by a three-pointer from the left corner by senior forward Matt McKinley (left) just ahead of the halftime buzzer.

Junior post Bryce Sanborn led MVNU with 12 first-half points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field. Junior wing Travis Brown also came off the bench with 10 points. All but one of the 12 players had scored at least two points by the break. The Cougars shot 56.8 percent from the field (25-for-44), 54.5 percent from three-point range (6-for-11), and nailed all five free throw attempts.

Sam Barnhill paced the Mavericks (1-10) with 10 points in the first half, while Amir Lindsay tossed in nine points. Ohio State-Mansfield shot just 32.3 percent from the field (10-for-31), 20.0 percent from three-point range (2-for-10), and 60.0 percent from the free throw line (3-for-5).

The lead continued to grow in the second half as MVNU began the final 20 minutes on a 23-3 run to push the margin to 84-28 with 13:38 still left on the clock.

The Cougars hit the century mark with 8:28 left in the game on a layup by freshman forward Ian Quick as the score grew to 100-30. From there, MVNU finished the game on a 19-6 as the Cougars posted the 119-36 victory while setting a new school mark for largest margin of victory as the final total of 83 points bested the mark set in 1994 when MVNU blitzed Indiana University-East 132-50 to win by 82 points.

“This was a game where we just focused on what we were doing,” said MVNU coach Scott Flemming. “After the tough loss on Tuesday, our guys really responded with a great week of practice. We have been intentional about improving our intensity, our defense, and sharing the basketball. Tomorrow will be a bigger test.”

Grimm led the Cougars with a career-high 17 points that included a trio of dunks, while Brown also tossed in 17 points. Sanborn (right) and Falkenberg each scored 14 points with Sanborn setting a new career-high in the process as he finished 7-for-8 from the field. Falkenberg also dished out a career-high eight assists.. Quick also scored a career-high 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field and 3-of-3 free throw shooting. Senior guard Dan Borcherdt (nine points), freshman guard Robbie Taylor (eight points), and senior forward Jadin Thomas (eight points) were each approaching double figures with Taylor dishing out a career-high eight aces to go with six rebounds. McKinley added nine points and a game and career-high 11 rebounds.

MVNU shot 62.2 percent from the field (51-for-82) including 68.4 percent in the second half (26-for-38). The Cougars also shot 55.6 percent from three-point range (10-for-18) and 77.8 percent from the free throw line (7-for-9). MVNU out-rebounded the Mavericks 55-21, and the Cougars also compiled 35 assists for the team. MVNU’s bench also out-scored the Ohio State-Mansfield reserves 68-0.

Barnhill paced the Mavericks with 15 points, while Lindsay added 13 points. Curtis Remy tossed in six points, and Damien Beauford scored two points to account for Ohio State-Mansfield’s 36 points that was just six points over the MVNU school record for fewest points allowed in a game that took place during the 1998 season when the Cougars gave up just 30 points against Cincinnati Christian University.

In the other first round game on Friday, Shawnee State University (3-5) held off a furious comeback from Urbana University to post a 65-64 victory to advance to the championship game on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. versus MVNU.  (BOXSCORE)

Shawnee State (3-5) built a 48-31 second-half lead with 11:43 to play only to have the Blue Knights (0-7) come roaring back.64-62 lead with 1:09 left in the contest. At one point, Urbana rattled off 14 straight points to take the lead.

Then, with seven seconds left, Kyle Miller was fouled on a layup that went in. Miller completed the old-fashioned three-point play to provide the one-point winning margin as the Blue Knights’ final shot attempt was off the mark.

Justin Patrick led four players in double figures for Shawnee State with 15 points, while Miller and Timothy Russell each scored 12 points. Meanwhile, David Brown paced Urbana with 18 points, and Rob Matthews scored 10 points.

Saturday’s action will get under way with the consolation game at 1:00 p.m. between Urbana and Ohio State-Mansfield. Then, MVNU will take on Shawnee State for the tournament title at 3:00 p.m.