MOUNT VERNON, Ohio (1-23-2010) - The Mount
Vernon Nazarene University men’s basketball
team overcame an 11-point deficit in the
second half as the Cougars posted a 71-69
American Mideast Conference win over the
University of Northwestern Ohio on Saturday
night in front of a large, vocal crowd in
the Physical Education Center.
MVNU (9-11, 2-6 AMC) got off to a good start
in the game as the Cougars used the hot hand
of sophomore guard Robbie Taylor
(left) to stake
them to an early 16-10 lead after the first
five minutes as Taylor buried a trio of
treys for nine early points.
The visiting Racers (12-10, 4-5 AMC)
answered with a 20-7 run of their own to
take a 30-23 lead with 2:53 to go in the
half on a three-pointer by Isaac Bowers.
Northwestern Ohio would maintain a 32-27
lead as the teams went to the locker rooms
at the break.
Taylor led MVNU with nine first-half points,
while sophomore post Jordan Heatherly added
seven points and five rebounds. Junior
forward Adam Grimm also grabbed seven
rebounds. The Cougars shot 33.3 percent from
the field (10-for-30), 42.9 percent from
three-point range (3-for-7), and 66.7
percent from the free throw line (4-for-6).
The Racers were led by Dustin Guthrie with
nine points and seven rebounds off the
bench, while Bowers added eight points.
Northwestern Ohio shot 48.1 percent from the
field (13-for-27), 16.7 percent from
three-point range (1-for-6), and 62.5
percent from the free throw line (5-for-8).
A quick 7-1 run by the Racers to start the
second half gave Northwestern Ohio its
biggest lead of the game at 39-28 with just
90 seconds gone by in the final period.
The Racers still held a 48-38 advantage at
the 11:59 mark when MVNU began to mount its
comeback. The Cougars used a 16-6 run to
take a 54-53 lead on a tip-in by Grimm with
8:13 to play. Short scored eight points
during the surge with a pair of three-point
plays and a layup, and Grimm added six
points including a steal and dunk
(video below) that got
the MVNU faithful up on their feet for the
rest of the game.
Grimm’s tip-in started a streak of eight
straight possessions by the two teams
combined that resulted in eight lead changes
over the next three minutes with the Racers
holding a slim 61-60 lead with 5:13 to go.
Northwestern Ohio extended its lead to 66-61
with 3:50 remaining as Josh Vorst scored
five straight points for the Racers, but
senior wing Austin Kaiser ended an 0-for-21
slump from beyond the arc with a
three-pointer with 3:35 to go to keep the
Cougars in the game.
With Northwestern Ohio holding a 69-66 lead
with 2:02 to play, the teams traded
scoreless possessions before Short knotted
the score at 69-69 with 58.1 seconds left
with a three-point play.
Vorst missed a jumper for the Racers and
Grimm grabbed the rebound with 36 seconds
left on the clock as there was a one-second
differential between the game clock and the
shot clock. After a timeout, MVNU held the
ball for what they hoped would be the final
shot. With time winding down and the Cougars
looking to put the ball in Short’s hands,
MVNU nearly turned the ball over.
However, Taylor alertly grabbed the loose
ball and hit a jumper just outside the free
throw line with 2.8 seconds left as the
Cougars took a 71-69 lead.
After three timeouts between the two teams,
Heatherly, who was guarding the inbounds
pass, deflected the ball back out of bounds
as a second ran off the clock. Then, Brandon
Miller’s long pass was intercepted by Taylor
as MVNU celebrated the hard-fought 71-69
victory.
"That was great effort by our guys to
continue to stand firm and not give in to
the spread,” said MVNU coach Matt Moore. "It
would have been easy to get frustrated and
get down emotionally, but I thought our guys
battled through the mental fatigue and
earned this victory tonight.”
"I am extremely proud of the character of
our team,” Moore added. "At any point in
these past few weeks, our guys could have
folded up and gone their own direction, but
it is a tribute to what the coaching staff
has been teaching about remaining on the
focus of the process rather than the
outcome.”
Short finished with a team-high 20 points to
lead MVNU as he went 8-for-9 at the free
throw line. Taylor added 13 points, while
Grimm posted a double-double with 12 points
and a career-high 12 rebounds while also
hitting all six of his free throw attempts.
Heatherly just missed a double-double with
nine points and nine rebounds, and senior
center Bryce Sanborn also contributed seven
points off the bench. The Cougars shot 43.9
percent from the field (25-for-57), 40
percent from beyond the three-point arc
(4-for-10), and 73.9 percent from the free
throw line (17-for-23).
"I thought Brandon and Adam really did a
nice job midway through the second half of
helping us close the gap,” said Moore. "We
got solid minutes from everyone tonight and
at the end of the night it comes down to
players making plays. The final play was for
Brandon, but Rob ended up with the ball and
did what we needed him to do - make a
bucket.”
"We will enjoy this and get back after it on
Tuesday,” Moore added. "Our fans were
tremendous tonight as they kept the faith as
our sixth man.”
Vorst finished with a game-high 23 points as
he went 15-for-17 at the free throw line to
do most of his damage. Guthrie and Bowers
added 13 points apiece with Guthrie grabbing
a team-high nine rebounds. Northwestern Ohio
shot 46.8 percent from the field
(22-for-47), 30 percent from three-point
range (3-for-10), and 81.5 percent from the
free throw line (22-for-27).
MVNU will return to action on Tuesday when
the Cougars will host the University of
Michigan-Dearborn in the final
non-conference game of the year. Tip-off is
slated for 7:30 p.m.
Site Map
MVNU (9-11, 2-6 AMC) got off to a good start
in the game as the Cougars used the hot hand
of sophomore guard Robbie Taylor
(left) to stake
them to an early 16-10 lead after the first
five minutes as Taylor buried a trio of
treys for nine early points.