It wasn't pretty but the Spring Arbor University men's basketball team clawed their way to a 57-45 victory over the previously unbeaten Aquinas College Saints on Friday night. A strong defensive effort by both teams in the first half kept the Cougars and Saints shooting less than 30 percent from the field as SAU led just 16-15 at intermission.
Action picked up in the second half as Spring Arbor connected on 46 percent of their shot attempts while continuing to play a stifling defense. Senior Rob Boss led the way for the Cougars as he recorded a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. SAU got good production off the bench as senior Richard Blair contributed ten points and freshman Chris Bellamy chipped in with eight points.
"I was really pleased with our defensive effort throughout the game," noted head coach Ryan Cottingham. "Our energy level was high and we were able to get our offense on track in the second half."
SAU (4-1) will play their fourth game in five days as they take on Cornerstone (4-1) in the 3:00pm game on Saturday afternoon in the final contest of the MCC/WHAC Challenge. IWU suffered their first loss of the season on Friday night against Cornerstone (68-64) and will play Aquinas (2-1) in the 1:00pm game.
Indiana Wesleyan entered the weekend ranked #9 in the NAIA division II poll while Cornerstone is ranked 16th. Aquinas and SAU were both receiving votes.
