Mount Vernon Nazarene snaps Cal Maritime’s three-game win streak

VALLEJO, Calif. – Numbers never lie: That is a time-honored adage that, most of the time, is accurate whenever takes a quick glimpse at any situation. In Saturday's game at PEAC Main Gym, Mount Vernon Nazarene built a lead that quickly swelled to a game-high 29 points by shooting 42 percent from three.

The box score lists the Cougars hit 13 of 31 shots from distance, but those numbers do not reflect Cal Maritime's effort on defense since most of those were tough looks that MVNU simply hit.

Its three-point success is the reason why Mount Vernon Nazarene was able to withstand a furious Cal Maritime comeback midway through the second half — the Keelhaulers pulled within 10 with over 10 minutes remaining thanks to a 14-3 run over a five-minute timespan — and depart this first-ever head-to-head meeting with an 88-67 win.

Threes from Alex Maze and Nick Stone sparked CSUM's scoring run that was punctuated by back-to-back layups from Jamal Frenchwood.

Illyaas Rafiq was dangerous from three all night long: Five of his seven field goals were hit from behind the arc as he finished with a team-high 19 points. Alex Maze added another 11 with Frenchwood and DeAndre Minor chipping in eight apiece.

Frenchwood also dominated the glass for CSUM by scooping up eight rebounds, nearly one-fourth of his team's total (33) by himself.

Men's basketball will have a week to finish finals and prep for a two-game road trip in Phoenix that starts next Saturday (12/21) vs. Tabor and ends next Monday (12/23) versus Nelson University-Arizona.