Cougars Down Taylor 60-56 for Third Straight Home Win


	Cougar Basketball Game Recap Cougars Down Taylor 60-56 for Third Straight Home Win written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director Game Boxscore MOUNT VERNON, Ohio (1-24-2012) - The Mount Vernon Nazarene University men's basketball team hit its final nine free throw attempts and showed great composure down the stretch as the Cougars held off Taylor (Ind.) University for an important 60-56 Mid-Central College Conference victory on Tuesday night in the Physical Education Center. MVNU (9-14, 3-8 MCC) never trailed in the first half as senior forward Danil Zakhlebnyy opened the game with a 3-pointer nine seconds into the contest. The Cougars' early lead grew to 13-6 after a trey by junior guard Ben Severns at the 13:35 mark. The visiting Trojans of Taylor (15-8, 4-7 MCC) pulled within 15-13 on a jumper by Ben Raichel at the 7:44 mark. However, a jumper by sophomore post Caleb Williams and a pair of baskets by senior guard Robbie Taylor *(left)* extended MVNU's lead up to 21-13 with 4:59 left in the half. At that point, the Trojans caught fire from beyond the arc as Casey Coons drilled a trio of 3-pointers and Raichel added a pair of treys as Taylor was able to knot the score at 28-28 as the two teams headed to their locker rooms at the break. Taylor led MVNU with nine points and four assists in the first half, while Zakhlebnyy added five points. The Cougars shot 48 percent from the field (12-for-25), 50 percent from 3-point range (3-for-6), and 50 percent at the free throw line (1-for-2). MVNU also held a 15-12 advantage in rebounds. Coons tossed in 12 first-half points for Taylor as he went 4-for-6 from 3-point range. Raichel added 11 points off the bench and was 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. The Trojans shot a blistering 63.6 percent from 3-point range in the first half (7-for-11), but managed to go just 2-for-12 inside the arc (16.7 percent). They also went 3-for-4 at the free throw line (75 percent). The second half went back and forth from the start with Taylor taking its first lead of the game 37-36 at the 13:44 mark on Coons' fifth 3-pointer of the contest. The Trojans' cushion grew to as much as 46-40 with 8:05 to play after two more treys by Coons. However, the Cougars did not give in as Taylor went 3-for-4 at the free throw line and sophomore wing Austin Semple made a layup to pull MVNU within 46-45 with 7:20 still on the clock. Trailing 49-45 after a three-point play by Josh Riikonen, the Cougars used a 7-5 run to regain the lead 52-51 as Taylor hit the second of two free throw attempts with 2:04 to play. That would be the start of nine straight free throw attempts made by MVNU to close out the game as the Cougars did not attempt a shot from the field after a layup by Zakhlebnyy tied the score at 51-51 with 3:09 to play. Riikonen gave the Trojans what would prove to be their final lead of the game 55-54 with 50.6 seconds to go. Then, Semple put MVNU back on top 56-55 with a pair of free throws with 33.7 seconds left. With Taylor playing possibly for the last shot with the shot clock turned off, Tommy Peller was called for an offensive foul with 11.7 seconds remaining to give the ball back to the Cougars. After a long inbounds pass, Semple was fouled again and hit two more free throws with 9.8 seconds to go to put MVNU in front 58-55. As the hot-shooting Coons looked to tie the score with a 3-pointer, the Cougars chose to foul him with 3.5 seconds left instead of giving him a shot attempt from behind the arc. Coons, a 90.6 percent free throw shooter, hit the first shot and then purposely attempted to miss the second shot by trying to throw the ball hard off the rim. Unfortunately for Taylor, he stepped over the free throw line on the attempt to turn the ball back over to MVNU. With no time running off the clock, Taylor was fouled and calmly hit two free throws to push the Cougars' lead to 60-56, and Coons' final 3-point attempt as he tried to jump into an MVNU defender came up short to clinch the victory for the Cougars - their third straight at home. Taylor led MVNU with 15 points, nine assists, and five rebounds, while Semple added 14 points. Williams finished with 12 points and four rebounds, and Zakhlebnyy tossed in 11 points. The Cougars shot 48.8 percent from the field (21-for-43), 30 percent from 3-point range (3-for-10), and 75 percent from the free throw line (15-for-20). They also won the turnover battle (11 to Taylor's 13) and the rebounding war (28-24). Coons, who dropped 35 points and seven 3-pointers on MVNU in the earlier meeting between the two teams this year, finished with 24 points and went 7-for-16 from 3-point range. Raichel and Riikonen added 11 and 10 points respectively off the bench, and Jake Burkholder grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. The Trojans shot 40.8 percent from the field (20-for-49), 43.5 percent from 3-point range (10-for-23), and 85.7 percent from the free throw line (6-for-7). "We showed a great deal of grit tonight, and it is no surprise because tonight's victory followed our best practice of the season," said MVNU coach Matt Moore. "Robbie's leadership has been steady through some of these difficult times and our guys complemented him well tonight. Austin did a very good job in allowing the game to come to him, and both Caleb and Danil played very well within our system. The big kicker for us tonight was the stability our bench gave us at stretches in both halves. When we play hard, smart, and together regardless of who is on the floor, we are a fun team to watch." The Cougars will be back in action on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Indiana Wesleyan University in another MCC contest.

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