No. 16 Warner Blisters Nets in 87-69 Win over MVNU


	Cougar Basketball Game Recap No. 16 Warner Blisters Nets in 87-69 Win over MVNU written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director Game Boxscore LAKE WALES, Fla. (12-18-2009) - The Mount Vernon Nazarene University men’s basketball team was unable to keep up with the hot shooting of Warner (Fla.) University as the nationally-ranked Royals scorched the nets at a 60.4 percent clip for the game on the way to an 87-69 victory on Friday night in the Turner Athletic Center. Warner (6-2), which is ranked No. 16 in the latest NAIA Division II poll, jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead, but the Cougars (6-7) got a jumper from sophomore guard Robbie Taylor and a three-point play by junior guard Brandon Short to knot the score at 5-5 with less than two minutes gone by. With the score knotted at 7-7, the Royals went on a 17-4 run to build a 24-11 lead at the 11:12 mark of the first half as six different players scored during the surge for Warner. MVNU pulled within 31-24 on a jumper by senior guard Austin Kaiser with 3:11 left in the first half, but the Royals closed the half on a 13-7 run to take a 44-31 advantage to the locker room at the break as Brennan Taylor tossed in a 25-foot trey at the buzzer to give Warner a little extra breathing room. Kaiser, who did not play in Thursday’s 90-87 win at Florida College as Coach Matt Moore rested him, led the Cougars with 10 points off the bench in the first half, while senior wing Travis Brown (left) added eight points. Senior post Bryce Sanborn also grabbed eight rebounds. MVNU shot just 30.3 percent from the field (10-for-33), 14.3 percent from three-point range (1-for-7), and 76.9 percent at the free throw line (10-for-13). Taylor and Derell Henderson each scored nine points to pace the Royals in the first half, while Adam Branch and David Westberry each added six points apiece. Warner shot 53.3 percent from the field (16-for-30), 50 percent from three-point range (5-for-10), and 70 percent from the free throw line (7-for-10). The Royals held a commanding 28-14 advantage in rebounds to help push them out to their lead. A three-point play by sophomore forward Jordan Heatherly got the second-half started in a good way for the Cougars to pull them within 44-34. However, Warner responded with an 18-5 run over the next six minutes as the Royals built a 62-39 lead with 13:38 to play as the spurt was capped with a dunk by Adam Branch. MVNU did not give in, though, and continued to attack the basket as the Cougars were able to put points on the scoreboard with the clock stopped by going 10-for-10 at the free throw line before closing the gap all the way to 76-60 when Taylor drained a three-pointer with 6:47 left. MVNU was able to get within 16 points on three other occasions, but the Cougars could get no closer as the Royals shot a blistering 69.6 percent from the field in the second half (16-for-23) with six of the seven misses coming from beyond the three-point arc as the hot shooting kept MVNU from being able to mount a serious comeback bid as Warner went on to post the 87-69 victory. "Warner is a very talented ball club with a tough matchup in Henderson,” said MVNU coach Matt Moore. "We had our chances, but we didn’t do a very good job in the first half of slowing the game down mentally and finishing plays.” "We had opportunities to get back into the game, but you need to be able to string together defensive stops and we just could not do that in the second half,” Moore added. "We now get a needed break so we can get healthy and get refocused as conference play gets closer.” Brown finished with 16 points and five steals to lead the Cougars, while Kaiser tossed in 14 points off the bench. Short added 13 points and was 7-for-8 at the free throw line, and Taylor tallied nine points. Sanborn also contributed eight points and 11 rebounds. MVNU shot 37.3 percent from the field (22-for-59), 15.4 percent from three-point range (2-for-13), and 67.6 percent from the free throw line (23-for-34). Henderson paced the Royals with 19 points, seven rebounds, and four assists before leaving with a knee injury midway through the second half. Branch added 15 points, and Dennis Bender tossed in 13 points off the bench. Taylor also contributed 12 points, six assists, five rebounds, and four steals. Warner shot 60.4 percent from the field for the game (32-for-53), 35.3 percent from three-point range (6-for-17), and 60.7 percent from the free throw line (17-for-28). The Royals also held a 44-30 rebounding advantage. MVNU will now be off for Christmas until returning to action on December 29 with a non-conference game at Ohio State University-Marion that will tip off at 7:00 p.m.

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