Cougars Fall in Crossroads League Quarterfinals at Huntington

HUNTINGTON, Ind. – The Mount Vernon Nazarene University men's basketball team (17-12) began postseason play in the Crossroads League Tournament Quarterfinals at Huntington University (22-7) on Wednesday, February 25.

Entering the game, MVNU was the sixth seed and Huntington was seeded third. Huntington started the game strong, opening with a 5-0 spurt before stretching its lead to 10-2 with 15:53 left in the first half. The Foresters remained up and would take their biggest lead at 46-27 with 1:39 before halftime. At the break, Huntington led the Cougars 46-31. Huntington shot 51.4% in the first half and made eight threes at a 53% clip.

Just like the start of the first half, the Foresters opened the second half fast. Huntington went on a 9-2 run, taking a 55-33 lead with 16:03 left. Huntington stayed in control, eventually taking its largest lead of 24 points with 9:03 remaining in the game. MVNU fought until the end but ultimately fell by a final score of 68-85 on the road.

MVNU had a hard time finding a rhythm on offense as it shot just 36.1% from the field and 20.7% (6-29) from three. Huntington was on fire from three in the game, making 13 threes. Trent Koning led MVNU with 14 points. Devin Dreier had 13 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Abib Abib had 11 points and eight rebounds, while Peyton Heiss added 10 points, nine rebounds, and two assists.

Coach Ronai's Thoughts

"Huntington played a great game tonight and they're really tough inside Platt Arena. Kaden Johnson makes the game difficult on both sides of the ball. I'm hopeful we still have another game to play heading into next week. Our group really hit their stride in February and played some high-level basketball."

What's Next

MVNU will wait and see whether it will be selected for the NAIA Men's Basketball National Tournament. The selection show takes place on March 5 at 6:00 p.m. CT.

Mount Vernon Nazarene University is a private, intentionally Christian teaching university for traditional age students, graduate students, and working adults. With a 327-acre main campus in Mount Vernon, Ohio, MVNU emphasizes academic excellence, spiritual growth, and service to community and church. MVNU offers an affordable education both in-seat and online to nearly 2,200 students from 36 states, 1 U.S. commonwealth and 41 foreign countries.