CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- After opening up an early 17-point lead, the Mount Mercy men's basketball team found itself trailing at the break and in need of a spark. Luckily, junior point guard James Henderson answered the call.
Henderson scored all 17 of his points in the second half as the Mustangs held off the 14th-ranked Vikings, 77-72, in a Midwest Collegiate Conference battle Wednesday at Hennessey Recreation Center. The win over the league-leading Vikings (22-7, 11-5 MCC) kept the Mustangs (21-8, 9-6 MCC) in the hunt for a No. 2 or No. 3 seed in next week's MCC Tournament.
Mount Mercy dominated out of the gate, leading 20-6 with 11:44 to go in the first half and by a count of 29-12 just three minutes later. Corey Viet's layup right before the halftime buzzer capped a 21-3 Grand View run that put the Vikings in front, 33-32, at intermission.
A jumper by Henderson gave the Mustangs their first lead of the second half with 15:03 remaining. They moved ahead by seven at the 13-minute mark, but back came the Vikings to take a 54-51 lead with 7:27 to go. The lead changed hands six more times over the next three minutes and Mount Mercy finally went in front for good on Henderson's layup with 2:55 on the clock.
A jumper by junior forward Marty Tope and a pair of free throws by Henderson put the Mustangs up six, 71-65, with 1:49 remaining. Grand View was within three on Kevin Smith's layup with 10 seconds to go, but a full-court pass from senior forward Keith Kuenstling to junior guard Jerome Campbell on the in-bounds play sealed the deal for the Mustangs.
Kuenstling finished with 19 points and eight rebounds. Henderson ended up with five assists to go along with his 17 points. Tope tallied 13 points and five boards, freshman forward Chad Underwood nine points.
Viet led all scorers with 26 points. He also grabbed eight rebounds and collected two steals. He was joined in double digits by Greg Schulz with 15 points, Smith with 11, and Bryant Kucera with 10 points.
With only Saturday's regular season finale against Ashford remaining, Mount Mercy can finish anywhere from second to sixth in the league standings. The Mustangs host the Saints at 3:00 p.m. on Seniors Day at Hennessey.
