Furious Comeback Effort Falls Short at No. 7 Bethel

MISHAWAKA, Ind. – The Mount Vernon Nazarene University men's basketball team (11-6, 3-4 CL) played a Crossroads League game at No. 7 Bethel University (16-1, 6-1 CL) on Saturday, January 10.

MVNU started strong, jumping out to an early 5-0 lead after a Peyton Heiss three and a layup from Devin Dreier. MVNU continued its strong play, stretching its lead to 20-13 with 9:58 left in the first half. Bethel began to get into a rhythm and went on a 7-0 run to tie the game. Bethel continued to hit shots and slowly began to build a lead. At the half, the Pilots found themselves up 49-44.

Bethel opened the second half firing on all cylinders. The Pilots went on a 13-3 run to take a 62-47 lead with 18:02 left on the clock. Bethel later expanded its lead to 82-64 with 7:16 remaining. MVNU didn't quit and began to get itself back into the game. Trailing 89-78 with 3:54 left, MVNU dug in defensively, holding the Pilots scoreless the rest of the game. The Cougars battled, cutting the Bethel lead to a single point after a Trent Koning three with just 36 seconds left on the clock. With 14 seconds remaining, Bethel missed a pair of free throws, giving MVNU a chance to win the game at the buzzer. Despite MVNU missing the potential go-ahead jumper in the final seconds, it also had a tip-in attempt that nearly went in as the final buzzer sounded. MVNU pieced together a great comeback attempt, but ultimately fell to the seventh ranked team in the nation by a final of 89-88.

Overall, MVNU shot 50% from the field and 50% (9-18) from three. Koning led all scorers with a career-high 30 points on 9-18 shooting from the floor and 6-10 shooting from three. Isaiah Brown had 21 points on 9-18 shooting to go with eight rebounds. Heiss had 15 points on 6-11 shooting from the floor and 2-3 shooting from deep. Dreier had 11 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.

Coach Ronai's Thoughts

"Incredibly proud of this group. Their unbreakable spirit value shined through and even though we didn't leave with a win, we left hungry to get better next week. One more inch to the right and we feel a little different right now. We just went through a three game stretch facing three straight top ten opponents with two on the road, and we found out that this group can compete. We have to continue building and getting better to put ourselves in position. Time to get better on Monday."

What's Next

MVNU hosts Goshen College on Wednesday, January 14 in Ariel Arena. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.

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.