OAKLAND CITY, Ind. - The Cougars men's basketball team fell to Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) 67-63 in game one of two at the Oakland City Classic. IU Kokomo managed to take a lead after trailing by five at the half, but came up short to fall to 10-4 on the year.

After a back-and-forth opening seven minutes, IU Kokomo managed to take a four-point lead at 12-8 after a Xavier Hines fastbreak bucket. The Cougars of IUK led the Cougars of MVNU 18-17 before MVNU scored six-straight for a 23-18 lead with 4:34 remaining in the first half.

IU Kokomo cut the lead to two at 23-21, but MVNU went on a 10-0 run to extend the lead to 12 at 33-21. IU Kokomo did well to trim the halftime deficit to five points in the final 1:59 of the first half.

The Cougars of IU Kokomo scored the first six points of the second half to take a 35-34 lead. IUK trailed 42-40 before going on a 7-0 run for a five-point lead. A Zach Rinehart layup with 11:35 to go gave IUK their largest lead of the game at 52-44.

Mount Vernon Nazarene slowly chipped away at the IUK lead, eventually taking a 58-57 lead with just 3:21 remaining. IU Kokomo never trailed by more than four in the final minutes but were unable to draw even, falling to MVNU 67-63 in a hard-fought contest.

Xavier Hines led all scorers with 20 points. Hines was 7-12 from the field including 6-10 from three-point range. Hunter White added 17 points, ten rebounds, and five assists.

The Cougars will be back-in-action Friday afternoon as they take on Lawrence Tech (Mich.) in their second and final game at the Oakland City Classic. Tip-off is set for 2:00 P.M. ET.

For the latest news, updates, and information on the IU Kokomo Cougars, fans can visit IUKCougars.com. Fans can also stay up to date on the latest Cougar news by following @IUKAthletics on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.