Spring Arbor Men’s Basketball Shatters Single-Game Scoring Record in Win Over Greenville

Guard Nate Flannery in Spring Arbor’s Saturday victory.  Photo courtesy Spring Arbor University.

(January 23, 2021 10:58 PM) The Spring Arbor University men’s basketball team claimed a record-breaking win over Greenville University on Saturday. The Cougars defeated the visiting Panthers 148-124, breaking the program’s single-game scoring mark of 139 set during the 1968-69 campaign.

Eight SAU players reached double figures in the scoring column while four Cougars scored at least 20 points.

In addition to the single-game scoring record falling, the combined score of 272 points is also a new SAU program record, besting the 268 the Cougars and Northwood scored in the 1971-72 season.

Spring Arbor got off to a fast start, outscoring Greenville 25-8 in the first five minutes.  Daniel Cluster and Adam Gottschalk combined for 31 first-half points to help give SAU a 69-56 advantage at the break.

After trailing by as many as 21, Greenville began to shoot its way back into the game, cutting the deficit to one, 83-82, with 15:01 remaining. The Panthers stayed within striking distance for a short stretch, but an old-fashioned three-point play by Denver Cade ignited a 15-0 run that propelled the Cougars to their fourth straight win. 

Cluster led the way with a career-high 24 points while Gottschalk posted a career-best 23 to go along with nine assists. Brandon Durnell finished one assist shy of a triple-double with 21 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists. Connor Cottingham also notched a career-high, pouring in 20 points.

Cade finished with 15 points and seven assists while Tyler Kaminski registered the first double-double of his career with 14 points and 12 boards. Joshua Laman and Mike Grant added 12 and 10 points, respectively. The style of play Greenville uses lends to high scoring games as the Panthers entered Saturday surrendering 156 points per game. Spring Arbor was able to handle the visitor’s full-court press, which led to easy fast break points and 118 points in the paint. The Cougars also held a 62-42 advantage on the boards.

Spring Arbor shot 71 percent (65-for-92) on the afternoon while Greenville made 40 percent (45-for-113) of its field goal attempts.  The Cougars improve to 6-5, while Greenville falls to 0-7.

Up next, Spring Arbor will welcome Concordia University to the McDonald Athletic Center on Monday, Jan. 25. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

Monday’s Spring Arbor vs Concordia game will air live on JTV and JTV.TV.