Cougars Fall 79-56 at Streaking Saint Francis


	Cougar Basketball Game Recap Cougars Fall 79-56 at Streaking Saint Francis written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director Game Boxscore FORT WAYNE, Ind. (1-7-2012) - The Mount Vernon Nazarene University men's basketball team was outscored 47-25 in the second half at the University of Saint Francis as the host Cougars notched their eighth straight win with a 79-56 Mid-Central College Conference victory on Saturday afternoon. The first half went back and forth with MVNU (6-12, 0-6 MCC) building an 18-12 lead following a rebound and putback by sophomore post Caleb Williams *(left)* with 10:48 left before the break. However, Saint Francis (13-5, 4-2 MCC) responded with a 20-11 run to take a 32-29 before MVNU sophomore wing Austin Semple made a basket just ahead of the halftime buzzer to make it 32-21 as the teams went to the locker rooms at the break. Senior forward Danil Zakhlebnyy led MVNU in scoring with eight first-half points off the bench. The Cougars shot 40 percent from the field (12-for-30), 27.3 percent from 3-point range (3-for-11), and 66.7 percent from the free throw line (4-for-6). Saint Francis was led by Q Owens with nine points, while Ethan Hussey tossed in six points. The Cougars shot 37 percent from the field (10-for-27), 14.3 percent from 3-point range (1-for-7), and 91.7 percent from the free throw line (11-for-12). MVNU scored the first five points of the second half to take a 36-32 lead as Williams did all the damage in the first 40 seconds of the final period. Then, with the visiting Cougars still leading 40-36, Saint Francis went on a 34-7 run over a 10-minute stretch to take control of the game 70-47 with 5:38 remaining. MVNU had scoreless stretches of 2:52 and 5:09 during this surge. From that point on, MVNU was unable to get the deficit any less than 20 points the rest of the way as Saint Francis posted the 79-56 victory. Williams led MVNU with 14 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore wing Matt Anglea added 11 points. Zakhlebnyy finished with eight points as did Semple. The visiting Cougars shot 37.7 percent from the field (20-for-53), 25 percent from 3-point range (4-for-16), and 70.6 percent from the free throw line (12-for-17). Owens paced Saint Francis with 22 points and seven rebounds, while Hussey contributed 13 points off the bench. The host Cougars shot 48.1 percent from the field (26-for-54) including 59.3 percent in the decisive second half (16-for-27). They also went 3-for-13 from 3-point range (23.1 percent) and 24-for-29 at the charity stripe (82.8 percent). "We played a very sharp first half and came out of halftime with a good focus, but we were unable to sustain our momentum," said MVNU coach Matt Moore. "We are anxious to get back Tuesday to build on the chances we had tonight." The Cougars will return to action on Tuesday when MVNU will host Spring Arbor University in another MCC contest that will tip off at 7 p.m.

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