Cougars Fall 88-86 in Overtime to Point Park in AMC Action


	Cougar Basketball Game Recap Cougars Fall 88-86 in Overtime to Point Park in AMC Action written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director Game Boxscore MOUNT VERNON, Ohio (2-4-2010) - For the third straight game and the fourth time overall this season, the Mount Vernon Nazarene University men’s basketball team needed overtime to determine a winner as the Cougars fell 88-86 to Point Park (Pa.) University in American Mideast Conference action in the Physical Education Center on Thursday night. MVNU (11-13, 3-8 AMC), which was coming off a pair of overtime games over the weekend in New York, got off to a great start in this game as the Cougars built an early 13-4 lead over the first five minutes behind six points from sophomore post Jordan Heatherly (left) and five points by sophomore guard Robbie Taylor. The lead grew to as much as 24-13 on a layup by senior post Bryce Sanborn at the 10:29 mark. However, that basket proved to be a costly one as junior guard Brandon Short, MVNU’s leading scorer, was injured on the play after a collision with a referee while recording the assist on the play. He would miss the remainder of the game. The Cougars still held a 32-23 advantage with 6:43 to play following a layup by sophomore post Scott Hilbert. However, that lead would all but evaporate before the half as the visiting Pioneers (8-12, 4-7 AMC) pulled within three points on four different occasions before the teams went to their respective locker rooms with MVNU holding a 43-38 advantage at the break. Heatherly and Sanborn led the Cougars with eight points apiece in the first half. Senior wing Brady Swanson also added seven points and eight rebounds. MVNU shot 40 percent from the field (14-for-35), 11.1 percent from three-point range (1-for-9), and 73.7 percent from the free throw line (14-for-19). The Cougars also held a 29-24 rebounding advantage at the half. T.J. Heatherington paced the Pioneers with 12 points, while Eric Johnson added eight points. Point Park shot 33.3 percent from the field (14-for-42), 18.2 percent from three-point range (2-for-11), and 72.7 percent from the free throw line (8-for-11). A jumper by Heatherly and a layup by Taylor pushed MVNU’s lead to 47-38 with less than a minute gone by in the second half. However, the Pioneers answered by rattling off 12 straight points to take a 50-47 lead with 15:59 still on the clock. Eric Johnson led the comeback with eight points. A three-pointer by freshman guard Ben Severns ended the scoring drought for the Cougars as his trey knotted the score at 50-50. That would prove to be the first of nine ties over the remainder of regulation as the two teams traded baskets and the lead. With 7:24 left, Point Park extended its lead to 70-65 on a jumper by Johnson. However, MVNU went 5-for-6 at the free throw line and got a three-point play each by Sanborn and Kaiser to knot the game at 74-74 with 3:08 to go. A layup by Johnson put the Pioneers on top 76-74, but senior wing Travis Brown hit a pair of free throws with 2:24 still on the clock to knot the score at 76-76. Three straight misses by Point Park gave the Cougars a chance to move in front, but Brown missed both free throw attempts with 1:32 left. A turnover by Marcus Robinson helped MVNU take the lead as Taylor calmly hit a pair of free throws with 12.2 seconds to go to put the Cougars on top 78-76. However, there was still enough time on the clock for Joel Cashatt to feed the ball to Gerald Warrick for a slam dunk just as the horn sounded with the Pioneers and Cougars tied at 78-78 as the game moved into the five-minute overtime period. The teams went back and forth in the extra session as Heatherly put MVNU on top with a jumper on the team’s first possession. Then, Point Park used a quick 5-0 run to take an 83-80 advantage with 2:32 to go. Taylor hit back-to-back treys to give the Cougars an 86-85 lead with 1:04 remaining, but a three-point play by Warrick put the Pioneers back on top 88-86 with 39.6 seconds left. Brown’s potential game-tying jumper with 17.6 seconds left was blocked by Warrick, who was fouled with 16.5 seconds still on the clock. Warrick missed both free throw attempts to give MVNU one last shot to send the game into a second overtime with a two-point basket or to win the game with a three-pointer. However, Kaiser’s running jumper was off the mark and Point Park grabbed the rebound as the horn sounded to give the Pioneers the 88-86 overtime victory. "Down the stretch tonight I think that (Point Park) just had more toughness than we did,” said MVNU coach Matt Moore. "In games like this when it comes down to a few plays, the team with the more mentally tough players usually win the game. I felt like we were very lazy down the stretch when we needed key stops.” "Point Park’s point guard, T.J. Heatherington, deserves a lot of credit,” Moore added. He was the most dominant player on the floor and really made great decisions for them while playing every second of the game. I was very proud of our bench tonight. I thought they allowed us to stay in the game early in the second half, but if you can’t close games out down the stretch it doesn’t matter what you do in the first 36 minutes.” Taylor finished with 16 points to lead the Cougars, while Heatherly added 14 points. Sanborn posted a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Brown and Severns both came off the bench to score 10 points apiece. Swanson (right) also posted career highs of nine points and 10 rebounds. MVNU shot 36.4 percent from the field (28-for-77), 30 percent from three-point range (6-for-20), and 72.7 percent from the charity stripe (24-for-33). Johnson led all scorers with 25 points and 11 rebounds for Point Park, while Heatherington poured in 19 points and dished out six assists. Robinson added 14 points, and Warrick tossed in 13 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. "This is now the sixth time that we have come up short in the closing parts of games,” said Moore. "The great thing about it is that it is going to reveal who our true players are - the guys who love competition and want to "Earn the Right” as our team post says. We have come so far this season due to our guys’ effort, but we still don’t understand how far we have to go to get to that next level, especially in regards to a mental toughness standpoint.” MVNU will return to action on Saturday if the weather cooperates when the Cougars will travel to Wilberforce University for another AMC contest that will tip off at 4:00 p.m.

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