No. 4 Grace Proves to Be Too Much for Cougars in 89-63 Loss


	Cougar Basketball Game Recap No. 4 Grace Proves to Be Too Much for Cougars in 89-63 Loss written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director Game Boxscore WINONA LAKE, Ind. (1-21-2012) - For the second time this season, the Mount Vernon Nazarene University men's basketball team saw first-hand why Grace (Ind.) College has been ranked near the top in the NAIA Division II poll as the No. 4 Lancers handed the Cougars an 89-63 victory in the Orthopaedic Capital Center on Saturday afternoon in Mid-Central College Conference play. The game went back and forth over the first seven minutes with host Grace (18-3, 8-2 MCC) holding a slim 10-9 lead. However, over the next six and a half minutes, the Lancers used a 24-7 run to build a 34-16 advantage with 7:41 left before the break. MVNU (8-14, 2-8 MCC) closed the gap to 12 points on two occasions before going to the locker room at the half trailing 44-30. The Cougars were led in the first half by senior guard Robbie Taylor *(left)* with 14 points, while senior forward Danil Zakhlebnyy added eight points. MVNU shot 33.3 percent from the field (8-for-24), 41.7 percent from 3-point range (5-for-12), and 69.2 percent from the free throw line (9-for-13). Dennis Williams led Grace with 12 first-half points off the bench, while Bruce Grimm, Jr. tacked on nine points and Greg Miller added eight points and nine rebounds. The Lancers shot 44.7 percent from the field (17-for-38), 25 percent from 3-point range (4-for-16), and 85.7 percent from the free throw line (6-for-7). Grace continued to add to its lead to start the second half as it grew to 62-35 with just over five minutes gone by. The Cougars tried to claw their way back into the contest with a 13-5 run to pull within 67-48 with 11:21 to go, but that would be as close as MVNU would get the rest of the way as the Lancers prevailed 89-63 to sweep the season series by an average of 24 points. (The earlier meeting at MVNU went to Grace by the final score of 91-69.) "We played an outstanding team today in Grace," said MVNU coach Matt Moore. "They took away our easy opportunities and at times I thought made a few of our guys uncomfortable at both ends. I thought Robbie really allowed us to hang within striking distance with his competitiveness, but in the end teams win and they had the better team. We will see what we are made of in the weeks ahead as we get the chance to revisit a few games that we felt like we let slip away." Taylor led all scorers with 18 points, while Zakhlebnyy added 15 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Sophomore wing Austin Semple also contributed 12 points. MVNU shot 37.3 percent from the field (22-for-59), 45.5 percent from 3-point range (10-for-22), and 69.2 percent from the free throw line (9-for-13). Jacob Peattie led Grace with 17 points, while Williams finished with 16 points off the bench. Miller and Dayton Merrell each tossed in 12 points with Miller grabbing a game-high 15 rebounds and dishing out six assists. The Lancers shot 46.4 percent from the field (32-for-69), 32.1 percent from 3-point range (9-for-28), and 80 percent from the free throw line (16-for-20). Grace also held a 43-26 rebounding advantage. The Cougars will be back in action at home on Tuesday when they will host Taylor (Ind.) University in another MCC game that will tip off at 7 p.m.

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