Cougars Fall 90-85 in Triple Overtime at Indiana Wesleyan


	Cougar Basketball Game Recap Cougars Fall 90-85 in Triple Overtime at Indiana Wesleyan written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director Game Boxscore MARION, Ind. (1-28-2012) - In a game that saw 14 ties, 15 lead changes, 58 fouls, and six players foul out, the Mount Vernon Nazarene University men's basketball team came up just short as the Cougars fell 90-85 in triple overtime at Indiana Wesleyan University in Mid-Central College Conference action in Luckey Arena on Saturday afternoon. The host Wildcats (15-9, 7-5 MCC), who received votes in the latest NAIA Division II poll and were the No. 1 team in the country earlier this year, jumped out to a 10-4 lead after the first five minutes of action. Then, MVNU (9-15, 3-9 MCC) answered with a 13-1 run of its own to go in front 17-11 by the 12:43 mark as sophomore wing Austin Semple *(left)* led the surge with eight points including a pair of 3-pointers. Indiana Wesleyan reeled off 10 straight points in the back-and-forth action to go up 21-17 with 8:04 left in the half, but the Cougars closed the half on an 11-2 run to take a 28-23 lead to the locker room at the break. Semple led the Cougars with 12 first-half points, while senior guard Robbie Taylor added seven points. MVNU shot 34.6 percent from the field (27-for-67), 28.6 percent from 3-point range (2-for-7), and 88.9 percent from the free throw line (8-for-9). The Wildcats were led by George Jones IV with eight first-half points. Indiana Wesleyan shot 31.8 percent from the field (7-for-22), 28.6 percent from 3-point range (2-for-7), and just 43.8 percent from the free throw line (7-for-16). The Cougars lead grew to as much as 10 points twice early in the second half as junior guard Ben Severns and sophomore wing Matt Anglea scored five and four points respectively to put MVNU on top the second time 39-29 at the 15:23 mark. With the Cougars leading 46-39 with 10:49 to go, the Wildcats used a 15-4 spurt to go back in front 54-50 with 5:11 to play. It was during this span that MVNU saw post players junior Zach Zeltman and senior Danil Zakhlebnyy both foul out with senior Josh Weikert soon to follow. This lack of depth on the interior was further compounded by the fact that sophomore starting post Caleb Williams missed the game with an injured hand. Despite being short-handed, the Cougars continued to battle and regained the lead briefly at 55-54 on a basket by Anglea with 4:00 remaining in regulation. With Indiana Wesleyan leading 60-56 with 2:34 to go, MVNU again rallied to knot the score at 60-60 as Taylor hit four straight free throws. From that point on, the two teams traded points the rest of regulation with Taylor's driving layup with less than three seconds to go sending the game to overtime knotted at 64-64 after a desperation 3-point attempt by the Wildcats at the buzzer was off the mark. In the first overtime, the Cougars built a 73-69 lead with 1:44 to go as Semple scored six points and Severns drained a 3-pointer. However, Indiana Wesleyan battled back to take a 74-73 lead before Anglea put MVNU back on top 75-74 with eight seconds to go. Patrick Hopkins was fouled on the Wildcats' ensuing possession, but he only managed to hit the second of two free throw attempts to knot the score at 75-75 with 5.9 seconds to go, and Semple's 3-point attempt with one second left was no good as the game headed into the second overtime period. Semple got the Cougars off to a good start in the second overtime as he converted a three-point play opportunity to put MVNU up 78-75 with just 27 seconds gone by. However, seconds later, he picked up his fifth foul and his career night was over with a game-high 30 points to his credit. Indiana Wesleyan scored the next five points to go on top 80-78 with 40 seconds left, but Taylor calmly hit a pair of free throws with 0.9 seconds still on the clock to send the game to a third overtime tied at 80-80. Down to just six players remaining and with two of them having four fouls each, the Cougars fell behind 86-80 in the first 65 seconds of the third overtime. MVNU was twice able to pull within two points and had possession of the ball with a chance to tie the score or take the lead, but a 3-pointer by Derrick Troyer with 16 seconds to go was the clincher for the Wildcats as they prevailed 90-85 in the hard-fought game by both teams. Semple's 30 points saw came from a 10-for-19 shooting effort from the field and an 8-for-9 showing at the free throw line as he also nailed a pair of 3-pointers, grabbed six rebounds, and dished out three assists in 43 minutes of action. Taylor played all but seven seconds of the possible 55 minutes and finished with 19 points, five rebounds, and three assists, and Severns pumped in 16 points off the bench in 49 minutes of action. Anglea also tossed in 12 points and grabbed six rebounds. MVNU shot 40.3 percent from the field (27-for-67), 23.8 percent from 3-point range (5-for-21), and 76.5 percent from the free throw line (26-for-34). The Cougars committed just five turnovers in the final 36 minutes of action. The game was the third-longest in school history trailing just the five-overtime game at Davis & Elkins (W.Va.) College in 1978 and the four-overtime game at Cedarville University in 1984. Jordan Weidner led Indiana Wesleyan with 25 points, while Hopkins posted a double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Jones IV also added 11 points and eight rebounds, and Zac Vandewater contributed 10 points off the bench. The Wildcats shot 48.3 percent from the field (29-for-60), 23.5 percent from 3-point range (4-for-17), and 58.3 percent from the free throw line (28-for-48). "Tonight, we found out that we have what it takes in the big moments to answer the bell," said MVNU coach Matt Moore. "We simply ran out of time. The hard part is we left a handful of possessions out there that make the difference between the result being a W or an L. I'm very proud of our willingness to compete at this stage in the season with the circumstances (the loss of Caleb) continuing to limit us. We will be better because we tasted opportunity." "We may not have earned the victory, but we have what it takes to take someone's best shot and stand our ground," Moore added. The Cougars will return to action on Tuesday when MVNU will host Bethel (Ind.) College in another MCC contest that will tip off at 6 p.m.

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