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Cougar Basketball Game Recap
Cougars' Inside Game Leads MVNU to 82-71
Non-Conference Win
written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director
Game Boxscore
MOUNT VERNON, Ohio (1-26-2010) - The Mount
Vernon Nazarene University men’s basketball
team used a commanding 64-28 advantage in
points in the paint as the Cougars rallied
for an 82-71 non-conference win over the
University of Michigan-Dearborn on Tuesday
night in the Physical Education Center.
 MVNU
(10-11) got off to a 12-6 lead over the
first five and a half minutes to start the
game as junior guard Brandon Short
(left) led the way with six early
points including a dunk in transition less
than 90 seconds into the game.
With the Cougars leading 14-8 at the 13:43
mark, the visiting Wolves (4-17) caught fire
and went on a 19-7 run of their own to take
a 27-21 advantage with 5:05 left in the
half. Nicholas Simpson led the surge with
eight points, while Matt Ponik drained a
pair of three-pointers and Myke White hit a
trey as well.
A three-pointer by sophomore guard Robbie
Taylor and two baskets by senior center
Bryce Sanborn sent MVNU on a quick 7-0 run
to regain the lead 28-27 with 3:20 remaining
before the break. However, Michigan-Dearborn
finished the half on a 10-4 run to take a
37-32 cushion to the locker room at the
break.
Short led the Cougars with 10 points in the
first half, while Sanborn added nine points
off the bench. Sophomore forward Jordan
Heatherly also contributed seven points, six
rebounds, and five blocked shots. MVNU shot
42.4 percent from the field (14-for-33),
16.7 percent from three-point range
(1-for-6), and 60 percent at the free throw
line (3-for-5). The Cougars held a 22-17
rebounding advantage, but the team also
committed 12 turnovers.
Simpson paced the Wolves with 12 points in
the first half, while Ponik nailed a trio of
treys for nine first-half points.
Michigan-Dearborn shot 42.9 percent from the
field (15-for-35), 50 percent from behind
the three-point arc (5-for-10), and 66.7
percent from the free throw line (2-for-3).
With the Wolves still holding a five-point
lead at 43-38 three minutes into the second
half, MVNU began to make its move as the
Cougars scored five straight points to knot
the score at 43-43 on a free throw by
Sanborn at the 16:00 mark.
The two teams traded baskets over the next
four and a half minutes with the score still
knotted at 51-51 after a layup by Heatherly.
Then, after Ronald Wilson went 1-for-2 at
the charity stripe to give Michigan-Dearborn
a 52-51 advantage, MVNU used a 13-2 run to
take a 64-54 lead with 7:47 to go. Senior
wing Travis Brown scored four points and
Grimm added a three-point play to lead the
surge.
 The
lead grew to as much as 76-63 with 1:16 left
on the clock as Sanborn scored six points.
From there, the Wolves could get no closer
than eight points the rest of the way as
sophomore post Scott Hilbert, sophomore
guard J.T. Holliday, and senior forward Kyle
Harden each went 2-for-2 at the free throw
line to seal the 82-71 victory.
Sanborn led MVNU with 18 points and 14
rebounds off the bench, while Grimm and
Heatherly (right) each scored
15 points with Grimm grabbing 10 rebounds
and Heatherly finishing with eight rebounds,
a career-high eight blocked shots, and a
career-high four assists. Short also scored
14 points, and Brown contributed six points
and a career-high four assists. The Cougars
shot 50.7 percent from the field
(34-for-67), 14.3 percent from three-point
range (1-for-7), and 81.3 percent from the
free throw line (13-for-16). MVNU did most
of its damage in the paint as only the 13
free throws, one three-pointer, and one wing
jumper were taken outside of the paint as
the Cougars posted their commanding 64-28
margin in points in the paint.
"Tonight, we won in the trenches,” said MVNU
coach Matt Moore. "Our three-headed monster
of Jordan, Bryce, and Adam was tremendous at
both ends of the floor. Any time you can get
48 points on almost 63 percent shooting to
go with 32 rebounds from your front-line
players, you are going to have a chance to
win.”
"I thought we played without much intensity
in the first half,” said Moore. "We seemed
to be playing at their pace and we did a
very poor job of taking care of the
basketball. At halftime, we made some
adjustments and challenged a few players
individually to step up. I thought we played
great team basketball as a unit in the
second half. There is an old saying ‘if it
ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ so we made it a
point to go to Heatherly to open the second
half and get us going offensively. I have
been really proud of the way he has stepped
into an aggressive leadership role on the
court. I think our group now has some
confidence to finish this conference race
strong.”
"Although our perimeter players didn’t shoot
the ball all that well, they did a
tremendous job at the defensive end of the
floor,” Moore added. "Anytime you can hold a
team to 30 percent shooting for a half, you
are going to have a chance.”
Ponik finished with 20 points to lead the
Wolves, while White added 15 points and
seven rebounds. Simpson contributed 13
points, and Le’ante Duren tossed in 10
points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Michigan-Dearborn shot 36 percent from the
field (27-for-75), 37.5 percent from
three-point range (6-for-16), and 61.1
percent from the free throw line
(11-for-18).
The Cougars will be back in action on Friday
when MVNU begins a trip to New York for a
pair of American Mideast Conference games.
The Cougars will face Roberts Wesleyan
(N.Y.) College on Friday at 8:00 p.m. and
then travel to Houghton (N.Y.) College on
Saturday for a 4:00 p.m. tip.
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