Monthly Archives: December 2015

  KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Spring Arbor University women’s soccer coach Jason Crist has been named the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) NAIA Women’s Soccer National Coach of the Year.   Crist guided the Cougars to a 23-2-1 record and their first appearance in the NAIA National Championship Final in 2015 where they defeated the defending champs Lindsey Wilson College 3-0 to earn the program’s first-ever NAIA national championship banner.   The 2015 campaign was a historic year for Crist and the Cougars. Not only did the team capture its first NAIA national title, but also received its first NAIA Top 25 No. 1 ranking, set a new single-season wins record (23), established the longest winning streak in SAU history (19) and scored the most goals in a single-season (83).   In addition to the national recognition, Crist was also named NSCAA NAIA Mideast Regional Coach of the Year for the fourth time, as well as the Crossroads League Coach of the Year for the sixth time after leading SAU to its sixth straight conference tournament title.   Under Crist’s direction, Spring Arbor has made seven trips to the NAIA national tournament – six straight since 2010 –…

NAPERVILLE, Ill. – North Central College shot 52 percent from the field to pull away for a 77-63 victory over Albion College in non-league men's basketball action. North Central made eight of its first nine shots as it sprinted out to an 18-7 lead and it never let Albion make a run. Travell Oakes knocked down a pair of free throws and Corey Wheeler tacked on a three-point shot to pull Albion within 46-42 with 14:23 left, but that was as close as the Britons would get. Alex Sorenson and Jagger Anderson combined to score 43 points for North Central on 19-of-27 shooting from the field. Connor Rairdon chipped in with 16 points. Jordan Herron led Albion with 15 points, while Oakes fell a rebound shy of a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds. Jaylen Fordham and Robert Ryan added nine points apiece. Albion, 4-4 overall, returns home for a 3 o'clock Saturday game against the University of Chicago. Courtesy of Bobby Lee, Albion College

SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – The Spring Arbor University men’s basketball team trailed by eight at halftime but used 55 second half points to rally back and knock off Lourdes University 87-68 on Tuesday night inside the SAU Fieldhouse.   Sophomore Zach Medendorp led the way with 20 points – matching his career-high – while also finishing with six rebounds and a career-best seven blocks. Senior Peter Barry registered a career-high 16 points, and has now reached double figures in three straight contests, and freshman Luke Barber poured in 11 points off the bench.   Spring Arbor improved to 6-6 overall with the win while Lourdes dropped to 6-6 with the loss.   The Cougars had trouble slowing down the visitors in the first half as the Gray Wolves shot 64 percent (16-for-25) from the field, including hitting 4-of-5 shots from three-point range. Lourdes scored the first five points of the game and would not surrender the lead the rest of the half.   After trailing by as many as 11, SAU fought back to trim the deficit to two, 29-27, with 3:47 remaining in the period. But, the Gray Wolves responded with five quick points to halt the run and…