North Egypt News

COUGARS NARROWLY LOSE TO STREAKING FORESTERS

The Mount Vernon Nazarene University men's basketball (13-13, 6-10 CL) was defeated by No. 18 Huntington University (21-6, 13-4 CL) by a score of 87-82 on Saturday afternoon, February 11.

The Cougars came into Saturday's game hot, having won their last two Crossroads League games against Goshen and (RV) Bethel. The Cougars played a good game and stuck with the red-hot Foresters for the entirety of the game, but Huntington proved why they are the No. 18 team in the nation. In a back-and-forth game, MVNU found itself up 80-75 with 3:26 left in the game. With MVNU up 80-79, Huntington hit threes on back-to-back possessions to reclaim the lead for good.

Despite being unable to snap Huntington's seven game winning streak coming into the contest, the Cougars still find themselves in a Crossroads League tournament spot. MVNU will look to carry over its strong performance against the Foresters into the last two games of the regular season.

 

Inside the Box Score

Kyle Kegley led the way for the Cougars as he scored 23 points and hauled in 10 rebounds on the day.

Clay Hilliard had 16 points, two rebounds, and two assists.

Kade Ruegsegger put up 11 points and had four rebounds and three assists.

Trent Koning chipped in with 11 points and two steals and two assists.

Eric McLaughlin had eight points, two rebounds, and an assist on the afternoon.

 

Coach Ronai's Thoughts

"That's a big-time college basketball game. Joel Dyer hit two big shots down the stretch that put them over the top. Our guys grew today against another high-level league opponent. A game like that with 20 lead changes has a lot of growth opportunity inside of it. Looking forward to next week."

 

What's Next

The Cougars will travel to Goshen College on Tuesday, February 14 for a Crossroads League clash against the Maple Leafs. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00pm.

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