The visiting Cougars (2-0) found themselves down 19-16 after the first nine minutes of action as the host Trailblazers (2-1) hit four three-pointers in the early going with Timothy Baker nailing three of the treys.

However, over the final 11 minutes of the half, MVNU went on a 25-11 run to take a 41-30 lead to the locker room at the break. Freshman guard Ben Severns, who had pumped in 33 points in the junior varsity victory earlier in the evening, came off the bench to spark the surge as he drained a trio of three-pointers.

Severns and senior center Bryce Sanborn (left) led the Cougars with nine first-half points apiece with Sanborn grabbing 14 rebounds. Sophomore guard Robbie Taylor added eight points, while senior wing Travis Brown added six points and four rebounds. MVNU shot 42.4 percent from the field (14-for-33), 37.5 percent from three-point range (3-for-8), and 55.6 percent from the free throw line (10-for-18).

Baker led Ohio Christian with 12 points, while Stefan Vasiloff added nine pints and five rebounds. The Trailblazers shot just 23.7 percent from the field (9-for-38), 25 percent from three-point range (5-for-20), and 63.6 percent from the free throw line (7-for-11). Ohio Christian used 17 first-half offensive rebounds to keep the margin close.

A layup to start the second half by junior forward Adam Grimm extended the Cougars’ lead to 43-30, but the Trailblazers used a 16-7 run to close the gap to 50-46 with 11:56 left in the contest. Michael Farrell led the comeback with seven points, while Jeremy Hays added five points.

With MVNU clinging to a 58-54 lead with 10:19 to play, the Cougars used a 10-1 run to balloon their lead back out to 68-55 with 6:44 remaining. Sophomore post Jordan Heatherly scored four points to lead the way.

From that point on, MVNU held at least an eight-point lead the rest of the way and led by as much as 15 points as the Cougars closed out the 84-71 victory.

Sanborn finished with career high 21 points and 22 rebounds as he finished one rebound shy of the school record of 23 that was set in 1977 by Art Freeman. Sanborn went 6-for-8 from the field and 9-for-14 from the free throw line. Taylor added 17 points and six steals, while Severns, Heatherly, and junior guard Brandon Short tossed in 10 points apiece with Short dishing out six assists to go with five rebounds. Heatherly and senior forward Kyle Harden each grabbed seven rebounds off the bench, and Brown added eight points. The Cougars shot a blistering 60.9 percent from the field in the second half (14-for-23) to finish at 50 percent for the game (28-for-56). MVNU also went 4-for-12 from three-point range (33.3 percent) and 24-for-46 at the free throw line (52.2 percent). The Cougars outrebounded Ohio Christian 56-47.

"It was good to come away with a hard-fought win,” said MVNU coach Matt Moore. "There were three things that I was really pleased with. First, we did a good job of getting our posts a lot of touches. Bryce had a big game for us. Second, I thought we did a good job of pushing the ball and getting it up the court. Finally, I thought we did a good job of finishing plays. When the game got close again in the second half, we answered the challenge and were able to finish off the game. We still have things to work on and areas to improve in, but we are happy to pick up the win tonight.”

Baker and Farrell each pumped in 18 points apiece to pace the Trailblazers, while Vasiloff finished with 12 points and seven rebounds as he tied Farrell and Hays for the team lead in rebounds. Ohio Christian shot just 29.4 percent from the field (20-for-68), 30.3 percent from three-point range (10-for-33), and 60 percent from the free throw line (21-for-35).

MVNU will be back in action on Friday when the Cougars will host Asbury (Ky.) College at 8:00 p.m. in the annual Homecoming game.