SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – Three Spring Arbor University men’s basketball players scored in double figures but it was not enough to overcome No. 5-ranked University of Saint Francis (Ind.) who grabbed an 84-62 win on Tuesday night inside the SAU Fieldhouse.
Junior Caleb Hogans led the Cougars with 14 points. Sophomore Drew Zuidema followed with 12 while classmate Zach Medendorp finished with 10 points and four blocks – the fifth straight game he has recorded multiple blocks.
Spring Arbor got off to a great start jumping out to a 6-3 lead over Saint Francis (16-3, 6-1 CL), who entered the contest having won its last 10 games. The visitors settled in, though, and began to flex their muscles using a 19-4 scoring run to build a double-digit lead. Hogans halted the run with a three-pointer to trim the deficit to nine, 22-13, at the 8:53 mark, but USF answered with back-to-back triples from Seth Small to regain control.
The Cougar defense stepped up, however, and held Saint Francis without a field goal over the final seven minutes of the period while the offense went to work. Just before halftime, senior Peter Barry sparked a 7-0 run that sophomore Thomas Starks capped with a three to close the gap to eight at the break, 32-24.
Early in the second half, Spring Arbor continued to fight its way back. Medendorp knocked down a pair of free throws to open the stanza, and Hogans buried a three-pointer to get the Cougars within three, 32-29, with 17:59 remaining.
Despite the success SAU had at limiting the Saint Francis offense through the first 20 minutes, it was unable to keep up the pace in the second half against one of the best shooting teams in the country. Consecutive three’s from Small and Kegan Comer ignited a 16-1 run where the visitors hit 7-of-8 shots from the field.
Saint Francis would go on to connect on nearly 58 percent of its attempts in the second half, including going 5-for-8 from three-point range, to pull away for its 11th straight win and maintain its hold on the top spot in the Crossroads League.
Spring Arbor finished the night shooting 40 percent (24-for-60) overall and 40 percent (6-for-15) from behind the arc.
Saint Francis was able to use its size advantage to gain a 45-31 advantage in rebounds. The visiting Cougars hauled in 14 offensive rebounds that they converted into 16 second chance points.
Starks grabbed nine rebounds to go along with three points. Senior Greg Hamilton chipped in nine points while Barry netted six.
Up next, Spring Arbor (6-13, 0-7 CL) will host No. 12 Bethel College (14-4, 4-3 CL) on Saturday, Jan. 16 at 3 p.m.