The Cougars (4-4) got off to a good start as junior guard Brandon Short (left) scored six early points to push MVNU out to an 8-2 lead over the first three minutes.

However, with the Cougars holding a 13-7 advantage at the 15:22 mark, Mid-Continent (6-7) went on a 16-3 run to take a 23-16 lead with 9:05 left in the half. A three-pointer each by David Gratton and Josh Woodley helped the surge, while Donovan Willis added four points on a dunk and a jumper.

Mid-Continent still led 32-25 with 5:27 to go before the break after Woodley drilled another trey. However, a steal and dunk by junior forward Adam Grimm that resulted in a three-point play started a string of seven straight points by Grimm that knotted the score at 32-32 with 3:33 left in the half.

Another three-pointer by Woodley gave Mid-Continent the lead momentarily, but Short finished the half with two layups and a dunk as the Cougars took a 38-37 advantage to the locker room at the break.

Short led MVNU with 12 points in the first half, while Grimm added nine points. Sophomore point guard Robbie Taylor, who missed the previous game due to an injury, tossed in eight points with three assists and three steals, and senior post Bryce Sanborn grabbed five rebounds. The Cougars shot 53.6 percent from the field (15-for-28), 50 percent from three-point range (3-for-6), and 50 percent at the free throw line (5-for-10).

Woodley paced Mid-Continent with 12 points in the first half as he went 4-for-6 from three-point range. Kenny Thomas also added eight points. Mid-Continent shot 46.7 percent from the field (14-for-30), 45.5 percent from three-point range (5-for-11), and made all four of its free throw attempts.

The lead went back and forth over the first eight and a half minutes of the second half with four ties and three lead changes with the score knotted at 47-47 as the clock approached the 11-minute mark.

Sanborn ended a five and a half minute scoring drought for the Cougars when his layup with 8:53 to play pulled MVNU within 51-49.

However, that would be as close as the Cougars would get the rest of the way as Mid-Continent closed the game on a 29-17 run to post an 80-66 victory and advance to the championship game on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.

Short finished with 16 points to lead MVNU, while Taylor and Grimm added 15 points apiece with Grimm grabbing a team-high seven rebounds and Taylor dishing out five assists to go with four steals. Senior wing Travis Brown tossed in eight points, and Sanborn and sophomore forward Jordan Heatherly added six points apiece. Sanborn, the leading rebounder in NAIA Division II, finished with just six rebounds - eight below his season average. The Cougars shot just 37.5 percent from the field in the second half (12-for-32) as the team cooled off to 45 percent shooting from the field overall (27-for-60), 40 percent fro three-point range (6-for-15), and a dismal 46.2 percent showing at the free throw line (6-for-13). MVNU also committed 21 turnovers that Mid-Continent turned into 30 points.

Thomas led Mid-Continent with 22 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the field, while Willis finished with 16 points. Woodley nailed another trey to finish with 15 points on five shots from beyond the arc, and Chris Ferguson filled out the stat sheet with eight points, a game-high eight rebounds, and five blocked shots. Mid-Continent shot 54.5 percent from the field for the game (30-for-55), 41.2 percent from three-point range (7-for-17), and 76.5 percent from the free throw line (13-for-17). Mid-Continent also got a huge lift from its reserves as their bench outscored the MVNU subs 44-6.

"We did a nice job in the first half of competing with their athleticism and battling through to control the score at the half,” said MVNU coach Matt Moore. "The thing that hurt us was their bench play in the second half. I felt our guys got fatigued physically which affected our ability to concentrate midway through the second half.”

"We need to play teams like Mid-Continent because it shows us the areas that we still need to improve on,” Moore added. "We must be able to handle the basketball against pressure and make good decisions when the time presents itself.”

With the loss, the Cougars will take on Concordia (Mich.) University in the consolation game on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. The Cardinals (3-4) fell 94-84 to Ohio Dominican University (4-5) in Friday’s other first round contest. In that game, Ohio Dominican had four players in double figures led by Adriene Rodriguez with 16 points, while Marius Williams led Concordia with 33 points including six of the Cardinals’ 10 three-pointers.

"Our kids are tough and will bounce back tomorrow against a scrappy Concordia club that gave Ohio Dominican a game,” said Moore. "I am proud of our guys as they continued to fight even late in our game.”

After the championship game between Mid-Continent and Ohio Dominican on Saturday, the A+ Autobrokers Holiday Invitational All-Tournament Team will be announced and the championship team trophy will be presented.