Turnovers Prove Costly as Cougars Fall 87-66 to Bethel


	Cougar Basketball Game Recap Turnovers Prove Costly as Cougars Fall 87-66 to Bethel written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director Game Boxscore MOUNT VERNON, Ohio (1-31-2012) - The Mount Vernon Nazarene University men's basketball team committed 20 turnovers that Bethel (Ind.) College turned into 23 points as the Cougars fell 87-66 in Mid-Central College Conference action in the Physical Education Center on Tuesday night. Both teams struggled to shoot the ball in the early going as the first basket of the game did not come until 16:33 on a jumper by Darrell Hopkins to give the visiting Pilots (14-10, 6-7 MCC) the early lead. MVNU (9-16, 3-10 MCC) did not manage its first points until a rebound and putback by freshman guard Landon Israel made the score 4-2 at the 15-15 mark. Bethel held a slim 12-9 advantage at midway through the first half when the Pilots were able to use a 19-9 surge to build a 31-18 lead with 4:10 left before the break. Ryan Benner, Zach Miller, and Matt Schauss each hit a 3-pointer to help fuel the run. The Cougars, however, battled back to close the gap to 37-30 by the time the teams went to the locker room at the break as a tip-in at the buzzer by junior forward Zach Zeltman kept MVNU within striking distance. Sophomore wing Austin Semple *(left)* led the Cougars with nine points, while junior guard Ben Severns came off the bench to hit a pair of treys for six points. MVNU shot 44.8 percent from the field (13-for-29), 42.9 percent from 3-point range (3-for-7), and 50 percent at the free throw line (1-for-2). The Cougars held a 21-15 rebounding edge with sophomore post Caleb Williams grabbing seven boards to lead the way, but MVNU committed 13 turnovers to just five miscues by the Pilots. Schauss led Bethel with 13 first-half points, while Miller and Benner scored five points apiece with Benner grabbing six rebounds. The Pilots shot 42.9 percent from the field (15-for-35), 30 percent from 3-point range (3-for-10), and 100 percent from the charity stripe (4-for-4). The Cougars started the second half by scoring the first six points as Semple had four points and sophomore forward Matt Anglea added a layup as MVNU closed the gap to 37-36 with just 99 seconds gone by. With the Cougars still within 42-40 with 16:00 minutes left, Bethel used a 12-3 run to go in front 54-43 with 10:48 to go. The Cougars pulled back within 54-47 on a jumper by Williams and a tip-in by senior forward Danil Zakhlebnyy, but the Pilots answered with a 23-7 run to take control of the game 77-54 with 3:52 remaining. From that point on, MVNU would get no closer than 18 points the rest of the way as Bethel prevailed 87-66. Semple led the Cougars with a game-high 21 points as he also grabbed six rebounds. Anglea finished with 14 points, and Zeltman and Severns each added seven points apiece with Zeltman grabbing 10 rebounds. Williams also grabbed 10 rebounds. MVNU shot 47.4 percent from the field (27-for-57), 20 percent from 3-point range (3-for-15), and 60 percent from the free throw line (9-for-15). Benner and Miller each poured in 20 points to pace the Pilots with Benner also grabbing eight rebounds. Schauss also added 17 points. Bethel shot 41.7 percent from the field (30-for-72), 44 percent from 3-point range (11-for-25), and 76.2 percent from the free throw line (16-for-21). "I thought we did a very poor job of allowing physical and mental distractions to affect the way we played tonight," said MVNU coach Matt Moore. "We looked sluggish early, but still had a number of opportunities to convert and didn't take advantage of the moment. (Bethel) did a very nice job of keeping the pressure up and we fell into 'your turn, my turn' and never really closed the gap. We have a manageable schedule remaining, but we need more of a sense of urgency from the entire group to not allow opportunities to pass us by. We allowed this one to get away tonight." The Cougars will be back in action on Saturday at 3 p.m. when the will travel to Huntington (Ind.) University for another MCC contest.

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