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Cougar Basketball Game Recap
Cougars' Comeback Bid Falls Short in
69-63 AMC Road Loss
written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director
Game Boxscore
LIMA, Ohio (1-16-2010) - The Mount Vernon
Nazarene University men’s basketball team
used a late 13-0 run to take its only lead
of the game and erase a 16-point second-half
deficit, but then the Cougars failed to
score again over the final 3:12 as MVNU fell
69-63 at the University of Northwestern Ohio
on Saturday afternoon in American Mideast
Conference action.
 With
the host Racers (12-8, 4-3 AMC) holding a
17-14 lead after the first nine minutes,
Northwestern Ohio closed the half on a 21-11
run to take a 38-25 lead to the locker room
at the break.
The Cougars (8-10, 1-5 AMC) were led by
junior forward Adam Grimm (left)
and freshman guard Ben Severns with six
points apiece in the first half. MVNU shot
just 33.3 percent from the field (8-for-24),
28.6 percent from three-point range
(2-for-7), and 63.6 percent from the free
throw line (7-for-11).
The Racers were led by Josh Vorst with 13
points in the first half, while Isaac Bowers
added eight points. Northwestern Ohio shot a
blistering 56.7 percent from the field
(17-for-30), 44.4 percent from three-point
range (4-for-9), and missed its only free
throw attempt.
Bowers extended the Racers’ lead to 41-25
with a three-pointer on the first possession
of the second half. However, over the next
12 minutes, the Cougars were able to close
the gap to 57-50 with 8:02 to play following
a jumper by Grimm.
With MVNU trailing 62-50 with 6:42 remaining
after a 5-0 run by Northwestern Ohio, the
Cougars rattled off 13 straight points to
take its only lead of the game 63-62 at the
3:12 mark on a dunk by Grimm - his second of
the comeback surge.
Unfortunately for MVNU, that would be the
final points of the game for the Cougars as
they went 0-for-4 from the field and
committed three turnovers down the stretch.
Meanwhile, the Racers went 3-for-4 from the
free throw line and made two baskets after
offensive rebounds to post the 69-63
victory.
"Today, we lost the game in the first half,”
said MVNU coach Matt Moore. "You can’t spot
good teams double digit leads at home and
expect to be able to dig out of that kind of
hole. In the second half, we put together a
nice stretch to gain the lead with three
minutes to play. However, we weren’t able to
key in at the defensive end for the stops we
needed to close the game out.”
MVNU was led by Grimm and junior guard
Brandon Short with 16 points apiece. Senior
center Bryce Sanborn added 10 points and
eight rebounds, while Severns and senior
wing Austin Kaiser contributed six points
each off the bench. The Cougars shot 41.1
percent from the field (23-for-56), 27.3
percent from three-point range (3-for-11),
and 77.8 percent from the free throw line
(14-for-18). They did win the rebounding
battle 37-29, but MVNU committed 18
turnovers to just 11 assists.
Vorst led all scorers with 21 points for the
Racers, while Bowers tossed in 17 points
with five three-pointers. Kyle Gillette also
contributed 10 points and seven rebounds.
Northwestern Ohio shot 50 percent from the
field (27-for-54), 46.7 percent from beyond
the arc (7-for-15), and 53.3 percent from
the charity stripe.
"We have been searching for a voice and
leadership all season long,” said Moore. "We
all recognize the problem areas that need to
be fixed, but we have no one willing to take
ownership. What we need now is a group of
players who are willing to put the team
ahead of personal agendas and value the
concept of ‘team’.”
Things will not get any easier for the
Cougars when they return to action on
Tuesday with a home AMC game against NAIA
Division II No. 12 Cedarville University.
Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. following
the conclusion of the women’s game.
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