Mt. Mercy Men's Basketball

Mustangs fall in final second, 67-65

A three-day reprieve did not help the Mount Mercy men's basketball  team Tuesday night and now the Mustangs are in danger of missing the  Heart of America Conference playoffs.

Mount Mercy lost to Central Methodist, 67-65, in a game that began  Saturday and was postponed to Tuesday with 16:10 left in the second  half due to moisture falling on the court at the Hennessey Recreation  Center.

The Mustangs trailed 40-36 when the game resumed and took a few small  leads, but they never got rolling and lost when Isaiah Thurmond made a  driving layup with 1.1 seconds left.

Mychael Brawner-Henley hit a clutch 3-pointer for Mount Mercy with  20.5 seconds remaining to tie the game at 65-65, but the Mustangs were  not able to stop Thurmond from getting to the basket for the  game-winner.

"You have all this time to prepare for the last 16:10 and we didn't  execute," said Mount Mercy Coach Aaron Jennings. "There were things we  were supposed to take away and for some reason we did not do that.

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Mount Mercy hoops postponed by rain

Mount Mercy's game against Central Methodist University was postponed  by rain Saturday, but there was a twist.

It was basketball, not baseball.

Water began dripping from the ceiling at the Hennessey Recreation Center in the second half of the men's basketball game, stopping  action with 16 minutes, 10 seconds left to play.

A combination of ran and melting snow apparently led to the problem,  with the water falling onto the floor near mid-court. Officials waited an hour for the problem to subside, but ultimately decided the court was unplayable and sent everyone home.

The game will be resumed at a later date with Central Methodist  holding a 40-36 lead.

Paul Gavin, the athletic director and former men's basketball coach at  Mount Mercy, said he'd never experienced a situation like this.

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Mustangs bump off No. 16 Statesmen

Inch for inch, Antwain Strong is unquestionably one of the best NAIA  basketball players in the country.

He proved it again Wednesday night.

Strong flirted with a triple-double with 12 points, 10 assists and  nine rebounds as Mount Mercy whipped 16th-ranked William Penn, 92-84,  in a key Heart of America Conference game at the Hennessey Recreation  Center.

Strong, a 5-foot-11 senior, made some unbelievable jitterbug moves to  the basket and had a string of sensational passes as the little  Mustangs knocked off the towering Statesmen.

William Penn looked like a Big Ten team when it walked into the gym  with talented players who measured 6-foot-11, 6-foot-9, 6-foot-9 and a  pair of 6-foot-7 guys. Meanwhile, Mount Mercy's tallest player on the  floor was only 6-foot-5.

Somehow, the Mustangs slayed the giants.

"I have a motto my cousin taught me when I was growing up," said  Strong. "He always told me 'Heart over Height.' So as long as you have  heart, that makes up for a lot of your height. And that's what we live  by."

Strong is averaging 12.9 points, 6.4 assists and 5.2 rebounds. He  ranks third in the country in assists and has neared a triple-double  before, but Wednesday's performance kept the Mustangs in the hunt for a favorable seed in the Heart of America Conference tournament with two home games left in the regular season.

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Mustangs waste 16-point lead

PERU, Neb. - The Mount Mercy men's basketball team squandered a 16-point lead on the road Saturday and lost to 14th-ranked Peru State, 83-74, in a Heart of America Conference game in Nebraska.

The Mustangs took a 54-38 advantage with 15:34 remaining on a 3-pointer by Mychael Brawner-Henley, but Peru State promptly exploded for an 18-0 surge to grab the lead at 56-54.

Mount Mercy regained an advantage at 59-58, but it was all downhill from there.

Brawner-Henley poured in eight 3-pointers and scored 31 points for the Mustangs. Dennis McKinney contributed 20 points, but nobody else reached double figures for Mount Mercy. Antwain Strong dished out 12 assists.

Bailey Basala did not play for the Mustangs.

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