Over the first 20 minutes, the crowd liked what they saw as the scrappy Cougars played right with the bigger Athletes in Action squad made up of former college stars. After trailing by as many as 14 points on two occasions including 39-25 with 3:32 left in the half, MVNU went to the locker room at the break on a 19-7 run that closed the gap to 46-44.

Junior forward Adam Grimm (left) paced the Cougars with 16 points and six rebounds in the first half as he went 8-for-13 from the field. Senior wing Travis Brown added 12 points, while sophomore guard Robbie Taylor contributed 10 points, four assists, and three steals. MVNU shot 51.4 percent from the field (18-for-35), 50 percent from three-point range (3-for-6), and 50 percent from the free throw line (5-for-10). The Cougars also had a 22-20 edge in rebounds.

Bobby Kempf and Andrew Stimson led a balanced attack for Athletes in Action with eight points apiece as 11 of the 12 players who dressed scored in the first half. As a team, they shot 45.9 percent from the field (17-for-37), 36.4 percent from three-point range (4-for-11), and 61.5 percent from the free throw line (8-for-13).

Over the first nine and a half minutes of the second half, the teams traded baskets with Athletes in Action expanding their lead to 71-64 with 10:37 left in the game. However, over the rest of the game, Athletes in Action would go on to outscore MVNU 36-16 as they pulled away for a 107-80 victory.

Grimm finished with 19 points and seven rebounds to lead the Cougars, while Brown totaled 16 points and five rebounds. Taylor added 10 points, five assists, and four steals, and senior guard Austin Kaiser contributed nine points. Senior center Bryce Sanborn and freshman guard Ben Severns also tossed in eight points apiece with Sanborn grabbing a team-high eight rebounds. MVNU shot just 32.4 percent from the field in the second half (12-for-37) to finish shooting 41.7 percent from the field for the game (30-for-72), 40 percent from three-point range (6-for-15), and 56 percent from the free throw line (14-for-25). The Cougars also committed 21 turnovers in the contest.

Kempf led seven Athletes in Action players in double figures with 17 points and seven blocks, while Ben Beran added 16 points and 12 rebounds. John Vaudreuil (13), Stimson (12), Casey Crevelone (11), Ryan Werch (10), and Rob Eldridge (10) all scored in double figures with Justin Bourne also grabbing 10 rebounds to go with eight points. Athletes in Action shot 49.3 percent from the field for the game (37-for-75), 41.2 percent from three-point range (7-for-17), and 81.2 percent from the free throw line (26-for-32) including going 18-for-19 at the charity stripe in the second half. They also finished with a 46-43 lead in rebounds.

The Cougars will continue to work on things as the team looks forward to its season-opener on November 7 at 3:00 p.m. at Indiana Institute of Technology. MVNU’s first home game will be on November 13 against Asbury (Ky.) College at 8:00 p.m. as part of the annual homecoming festivities.