First-Half Deficit Does in Cougars in 90-67 Loss at Huntington


	Cougar Basketball Game Recap First-Half Deficit Does in Cougars in 90-67 Loss at Huntington written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director Game Boxscore HUNTINGTON, Ind. (2-4-2012) - The Mount Vernon Nazarene University men's basketball team found itself trailing by 28 points after the first half and could never recover as the Cougars fell 90-67 at Huntington (Ind.) University in Mid-Central College Conference action on Saturday afternoon. The host Foresters (15-11, 7-7 MCC), who received votes in the latest NAIA Division II poll, came out on fire to start the game as Huntington shot a blistering 72 percent from the field (18-for-25) over the first 20 minutes of action including a 9-of-10 showing from beyond the 3-point arc in building a commanding 50-22 lead by halftime. Nick Teeter went 5-for-5 from 3-point range as he scored 17 points, and Caleb Kennedy added 14 points. Senior guard Robbie Taylor *(left)* led MVNU (9-17, 3-11 MCC) with eight first-half points as he went 6-for-6 at the free throw line, while sophomore wing Austin Semple and senior forward Danil Zakhlebnyy each added six points apiece. The Cougars shot just 29.2 percent from the field (7-for-24), missed all six of their 3-point attempts, and went 8-for-9 at the charity stripe (88.9 percent). The Foresters lead grew to as much as 58-25 four minutes into the second half when MVNU began to whittle away at the margin. The Cougars pulled to within 66-43 with 10:36 to play on a trey by Taylor. After Huntington extended their advantage back out to 70-43 with 9:33 remaining, MVNU was again able to close the gap to 82-65 with 2:33 to go on a layup by Taylor. That would be as close as the Cougars would get, though, as Huntington ended the game on an 8-2 run to post the 90-67 victory. Taylor finished with 20 points to lead MVNU, while Zakhlebnyy added 15 points off the bench. Semple and junior guard Ben Severns contributed 12 points each, and sophomore post Caleb Williams grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. The Cougars shot 38.6 percent from the field (22-for-57), 30.4 percent from 3-point range (7-for-23), and 84.2 percent from the free throw line (16-for-19). They also forced the Foresters into 16 turnovers while only committing 10 themselves. Kennedy led Huntington with 24 points and nine rebounds, while Teeter finished with 17 points. Ryan Boester also tossed in 16 points, and the Foresters posted a 38-25 rebounding advantage. Huntington shot 55.1 percent from the field (27-for-49), 70.6 percent from 3-point range (12-for-17), and 75 percent from the free throw line (24-for-32). The Cougars will be back in action on Tuesday when they will host Goshen (Ind.) College in another MCC game that will tip off at 7 p.m.

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