Second-Half Shooting and Turnovers Does in MVNU 86-81 in OT


	Cougar Basketball Game Recap Second-Half Shooting and Turnovers Does in MVNU 86-81 in OT written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director Game Boxscore ROCHESTER, N.Y. (1-29-2010) - The Mount Vernon Nazarene University men’s basketball team committed 15 turnovers and shot just 31 percent from the field after halftime (9-for-29) as the Cougars dropped an American Mideast Conference game at Roberts Wesleyan (N.Y.) College on Friday evening by the score of 86-81 in overtime in the Voller Athletic Center after leading by 11 points in the first half. The game was close in the early going with three ties and three lead changes leading to a 9-9 deadlock after the first five minutes of action. With the host Raiders (11-9, 4-5 AMC) holding a slim 22-21 advantage at the 9:29 mark, MVNU (10-12, 2-7 AMC) went on a 17-5 run to take a 38-27 advantage. Senior wing Austin Kaiser scored six points off the bench, while junior guard Brandon Short (left) added five points. The Cougars would close the half with a 46-36 lead as they went to the locker room at the break. Sophomore guard Robbie Taylor led MVNU with 12 points in the first half, while Short added 10 points. The Cougars, who committed just eight first-half turnovers, shot 58.1 percent from the field (18-for-31), 28.6 percent from three-point range (2-for-7), and 80 percent at the free throw line (8-for-10). Roberts Wesleyan was led by Rashaad Stokelin and Dan Foley with nine points apiece with Foley grabbing five rebounds. The Raiders shot 39.4 percent from the field (13-for-33), 37.5 percent from three-point range, and 100 percent at the free throw line (7-for-7). The 10-point halftime lead began to evaporate quickly for the Cougars in the second half. By the 13:16 mark, the Raiders had rallied to knot the score at 50-50. MVNU responded by pushing the lead back out to 56-52 with 11:28 to play as the Cougars worked hard at both ends of the floor to try to build some cushion into their lead. However, with MVNU clinging to a 60-56 lead with just under nine minutes to play, Roberts Wesleyan completed its comeback as there were five ties and three lead changes with the score knotted at 70-70 with 2:14 remaining. Alif Bland went 1-for-2 at the free throw line and then got a dunk after blocking a shot and grabbing the defensive rebound to put the Raiders in front 73-70 with 1:15 left. After a pair of missed shots by the Cougars, Stokelin went 1-for-2 at the charity stripe to extend the lead to 74-70 with 19 seconds to go. Short drew a foul with nine seconds left on the clock and hit two free throws to cut the deficit to 74-72. Then, he got a steal and got the ball to senior wing Travis Brown, who was fouled with 5.4 seconds remaining. Brown hit both free throws to knot the score at 74-74. Short got a steal off the inbounds pass, but his half-court shot as the buzzer sounded was off the mark as the game headed into overtime. In the five-minute extra session, MVNU quickly fell behind 80-75 as the Cougars missed their first four shots from the field and went just 1-for-4 at the free throw line after making all 14 free throw attempts in the second half. With 1:17 to go, freshman guard Ben Severns drained a three-pointer to close the gap to 80-78. Brown got a steal on the next possession, but a turnover by the Cougars gave the ball right back. After Foley went just 1-for-2 at the charity stripe with 31 seconds to go, Bland grabbed the offensive rebound on the second shot and Stokelin was fouled and hit two free throws to extend the margin to 83-78 with 26 seconds remaining. Severns nailed his third three of the game with 15 seconds to go to pull MVNU within 83-81, but a dunk by Mitchell Fraser and then a 1-for-2 showing at the line by Bland closed out the 86-81 victory for Roberts Wesleyan. "It was a tale of two halves for us tonight,” said MVNU coach Matt Moore. "We shot the ball well early and our guards carried us, but when (Roberts Wesleyan) made adjustments we were never able to get our posts going.” "This is about the fourth or fifth game now that we have lost because of our inability to make decisions in the clutch,” said Moore. "We competed and fought to make it to overtime, but in the end left too many possessions on the table.” Taylor led MVNU with 20 points, five rebounds, and four assists, while Short finished with 19 points, eight rebounds, and four steals. Brown also scored 11 points, while Severns tossed in nine points off the bench and Sanborn grabbed 10 rebounds. The Cougars shot 45 percent from the field for the game (27-for-60), but went just 9-for 29 in the second half and overtime. MVNU also hit just 4-of-16 three-point attempts (25 percent) while shooting 82.1 percent from the free throw line (23-for-28). However, the Cougars also committed 23 turnovers in the game. Stokelin led Roberts Wesleyan with a game-high 24 points and five rebounds. Bland posted a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds to go with five blocked shots, and Foley and Fraser finished with 17 and 11 points respectively. The Raiders shot 46.8 percent from the field (29-for-62) including going 16-for-29 in the second half and overtime (55.2 percent). They also went 5-for-16 from three-point range (31.3 percent) and 23-for-34 at the free throw line (67.6 percent). The Cougars will return to action on Saturday when the team travels to Houghton (N.Y.) College for another AMC game that will tip off at 4:00 p.m.

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