[Men's Basketball] Viking Men's Basketball Comeback Falls Short in 2018 Opener

Cedar Rapids, Iowa – The Grand View University men's basketball team returned from the Holiday break to battle the Mount Mercy Mustangs on Tuesday, January 4th in both teams' 2018 opener. The Vikings, who trailed by 16 in the first half, battled back, but ultimately fell short of the Mustangs. The final score was 76-78. Grand View fell to 9-5 overall and 2-2 in the Heart, while Mount Mercy improved to 7-7 overall and 2-2 in conference play.

Grand View was led by Jjuan Hadnot (SR/Beaumont, Texas) who scored 19 points along with 6 rebounds. Seniors Nathan Washington (SR/Houston, Texas) and Jordan Tanner (SR/Houston, Texas) also put together impressive games scoring 17 points apiece.

The two teams played neck and neck in the early portions of the first half. Both squads displayed some rust early after coming back from the long layoff. Even though the game started sloppily, it was nonetheless competitive. The Vikings took a 12-8 lead after a strong move and finish in the paint by Tanner. This four-point lead at the 15:30 mark of the first half would be the Vikings largest lead of the evening.

The Mustangs answered by going on a 22-4 run, and with 7:15 left in the first period the Vikings found themselves in a 14 point deficit. Mount Mercy's lead would extend to 16 points with 5:17 left.

Washington spurred the Vikings into a run of their own by scoring 7 points in a matter of 2 minutes to bring the deficit to single digits once again. However, a late old-fashioned three-point play from the Mustangs sent the visitors into the locker room in a 10 point hole with the halftime score 32-42.

The Vikings scored the ball fairly efficiently in the first period. They shot 45% from the field and made both of their free throw attempts. Grand View was also able to hold the Mustangs to a worse shooting performance. Mount Mercy shot 40% from the field but they went 7/11 from the charity stripe. The issues Grand View faced, however, were turning the ball over, giving up offensive rebounds, and foul trouble. The Vikings committed 12 turnovers, relinquished 7 offensive boards, and fouled their opponents 11 times.

With some of the regular rotation facing foul trouble, Head Coach Denis Schaefer turned to his bench to start the second half. Darryl Nellum (SR/Chicago, Illinois) and Jay Chen (FR/Taipei, Taiwan) started for the Vikings as they entered the court after the intermission. The group cut the 10 point deficit to 3 after just 1:30 of game time.

Mount Mercy called a timeout to regroup and returned to the floor with added intensity. They once again forced the Vikings into turnovers and created easy opportunities at the rim. By the 12:06 mark they increased their lead back to 15 points.

The Vikings refused to lay down, however. The group clawed and battled back into the game. Tanner, Washington, and Hadnot continued to find ways to get the ball into the net, but it was a total team effort defensively that cut the lead once again. With 4:00 left to play, Grand View cut the game to 6 points. A Tanner bucket with 0:48 seconds left would put the Vikings within 2 points.

Grand View was unable to get the stops it needed and when they were forced to foul, the Mustangs capitalized on their free throw attempts. Hadnot would hit a half-courter to end the game, but the Vikings still found themselves two points short on the scoreboard.

Keys to the Game…

The Vikings outshot the Mustangs. Grand View shot 51% from the field, 33% from behind the three-point arc, and 80% from the free throw line. Mount Mercy, meanwhile, shot 43% from the field, 26% from deep, and 65% from the charity stripe.

The Vikings committed 22 turnovers for the contest. 19 of those 22 turnovers were committed by the starting group.

Between turnovers and offensive rebounds, the Mustangs were able to attempt 9 more shots than the Vikings in the first half, which helped them to get out to a big lead early in the game. 

Players of Note…

Jjuan Hadnot led the Vikings with 19 points. The senior went 8/13 from the field, including 2/2 from deep.

Jordan Tanner shot an impressive 7/8 from the field and 3/4 from the free throw line to finish the game with 17 points. The Houston native also recorded 2 blocks on the evening.

Up Next…

Grand View will travel to Peru, Nebraska on Saturday, January 6th to take on Peru State College. The Bobcats are currently 8-7 overall and 2-2 in the Heart. Tip-off begins at 4:00 pm. Check back with gvvikings.com for a complete recap and follow the Vikings on social media (@VikingAthletics) for in-game updates.