Cougars Come up Just Short against Wilberforce 67-64


	Cougar Basketball Game Recap Cougars Come up Just Short against Wilberforce 67-64 written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director Game Boxscore MOUNT VERNON, Ohio (1-5-2010) - The Mount Vernon Nazarene University men’s basketball team came up just short in American Mideast Conference action on Tuesday night as the Cougars fell 67-64 to Wilberforce University. After five straight games on the road, MVNU (7-8, 0-3 AMC) looked like it was glad to be in the friendly confines of the Physical Education Center over the first 11-plus minutes as the Cougars built a 28-14 lead with 8:47 left in the half as sophomore guard Robbie Taylor (left) led the way with 13 points including a trio of three-pointers. However, MVNU would then proceed to go exactly the next six minutes without scoring until a pair of free throws by senior guard Austin Kaiser ended the drought with 2:47 remaining before the break. Meanwhile, the visiting Bulldogs (7-8, 1-2 AMC) were in the midst of rattling off 18 straight points to take a 32-28 lead. Lendyn Davis led the way with five points, while TyJuan Wallace added four points. Timothy Giles, Adam Reese, and Taverius Wilkins also tallied three points apiece to fuel the surge. Following Kaiser’s free throws to end the Wilberforce run, senior wing Travis Brown made a jumper with 42 seconds left to knot the score at 32-32 as the teams went to the locker room at the break. Taylor led the Cougars with 13 first-half points as he went 3-for-5 from beyond the arc and 4-for-4 at the free throw line. Brown and senior post Bryce Sanborn added six points apiece with Sanborn grabbing seven rebounds. MVNU shot just 35.5 percent from the field (11-for-31), 44.4 percent from three-point range (4-for-9), and made all six of its free throw attempts. The Cougars got off to a good start in the second half as a pair of layups by junior guard Brandon Short and an offensive rebound and putback by Sanborn gave MVNU a 38-33 lead just over two minutes into the final period. Then, the game settled into a back-and-forth affair that featured 12 lead changes and two ties. The Bulldogs took their biggest lead of the second half with 13:14 to go when Reese went 1-for-2 at the free throw line to put Wilberforce on top 42-38. Meanwhile, the Cougars battled back to take a 54-50 lead with 6:38 to go after a layup by Short. With the Bulldogs holding a 63-61 advantage, Taylor hit his sixth trey of the game with 1:48 to play to put MVNU back in front 64-63. Reese helped Wilberforce regain the lead on the Bulldogs’ next possession with a layup to make it 65-64. After a miss by the Cougars and a defensive rebound, Wilberforce got two offensive rebounds off of missed three-pointers before Reese hit two free throws with 16.3 seconds left to extend the lead to 67-64. MVNU raced the ball across midcourt and called a timeout with 12.9 seconds to go in front of the Cougars’ own bench. However, on the in-bounds play, MVNU was unable to get the three-point shot it needed as Taylor was forced to throw up a layup attempt as the final buzzer was sounding after the Cougars scrambled to track down a loose ball as Wilberforce prevailed 67-64. "Tonight was a story line we have seen three or four times now this season,” said MVNU coach Matt Moore. "The game comes down to rebounding, execution, and turnovers. We did a poor job in all three areas down the stretch.” "The great thing is that our season does not hinge on a single game,” Moore continued. "We need to grow and take this into Thursday’s game.” Taylor finished with a career-high 22 points on 6-of-8 shooting from three-point range, while Short added 11 points. Sanborn posted a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds, and junior forward Adam Grimm contributed eight points and six rebounds. MVNU shot 42.4 percent from the field (25-for-59), 43.8 percent from three-point range (7-for-16), and 77.8 percent from the free throw line (7-for-9). However, the Cougars committed 20 turnovers, were outrebounded 42-37, and the bench was outscored 30-7 despite Wilberforce dressing just seven players. "I thought Robbie carried us at the offensive end, which was great to see,” said Moore. "He is maturing into a leader game by game.” The Bulldogs were led by Giles with 18 points off the bench as he hit four treys. Wallace and Reese added 12 points apiece with Reese grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds. Davis and Wilkins also tossed in 10 points each with Davis dishing out a game-high six assists. Wilberforce shot 37.9 percent from the field (25-for-66), 30.4 percent from three-point range (7-for-23), and 66.7 percent from the free throw line (10-for-15). MVNU will return to action on Thursday when the Cougars travel to the University of Northwestern Ohio for another AMC game that will tip off at 7:00 p.m.

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