SPRING ARBOR, MI - For the second straight game, Rob Hogans
exploded offensively and led his fellow Cougars to an impressive 87-78 home win
over the Mount Vernon Nazarene University Cougars.
Hogans, fresh from a 34 point performance in last Saturday's
win at St. Francis scored a game high 29 points hitting 12 of 15 shots from the
field including three of four from 3-point range. Hogans also went two of three from the free
throw line.
Spring Arbor had four players scoring double digits in the
win with Chris Bellamy scoring his season average of 21 points, Matt Howe added
11 points to the total and Caleb Byers contributed 10 points to the cause.
"Any win in the MCC is a good win, so we'll take it," said
Coach Ryan Cottingham. "Rob Hogans is emerging
right in front of our eyes. He is really
getting it these last few weeks."
The win propels Spring Arbor to 17-12 and 8-9 in the MCC and
was critical for the Cougars as they're battling for a spot in the post season
MCC Tournament starting next week.
With Taylor University defeating #14 ranked Indiana Wesleyan
tonight, and Goshen losing to Huntington, the Cougars are now tied for 6th
place with Taylor and Goshen. With eight
of the ten teams in the MCC eligible to play in the tournament and with one
game remaining, currently Bethel and Mount Vernon are on the outside looking in.
In tonight's game, the first 10 minutes started like a heavy
weight boxing match as both teams shared jabs feeling the opponent out until
Spring Arbor started gaining the upper-hand and control of the game. Spring Arbor closed the first half with a
26-16 scoring advantage in the last 10 minutes to lead 48-35 at the break.
Other than a brief Mount Vernon run to cut Spring Arbor's
lead to five points (74-69) with 3:21 remaining in the game, Spring Arbor controlled
the tempo and the ball and a couple of Chris Bellamy 3-pointers sealed the deal
for Spring Arbor with a few minutes remaining in the game.
Hogans scored his 29th point with a field goal
with 5:52 left in the game to give SAU a 72-59 advantage and it looked like he
would become the first Cougar in several years to score back to back 30 point
games, but it wouldn't become a reality as Hogans never got the opportunity to
score again.
The Cougars will wrap up the regular season on Saturday
afternoon at home with Huntington University in town and a lot riding on the
outcome of this game. The game will
start at 3:00 and anyone living in Jackson County is invited to come and enjoy
the game free of charge with proof of a valid address in Jackson County. There will be a special halftime show and
other activities to celebrate the season's last home game.
