SPRING ARBOR, MI – There is one thing that is for certain about Rob Hogans; the kid can elevate in more ways than just his vertical leap. Hogans scored a game high 34 points and led Spring Arbor University to a 82-78 win in the season opening and first round game of the Trent Allen Memorial over Grace Bible College to advance to tomorrow's final against Rochester College. Rochester, ranked #25 in the opening NAIA polls, advanced by defeating Lawrence Tech 100-50.
It was a solid opening performance for Spring Arbor controlling the tempo, and limiting mistakes for the first time out. The Cougars committed just seven turnovers and dished out 16 assists, including a game high nine assist by Xavier Prather.
"I was very pleased with the way we competed in our first game of the season," said Head Coach, Ryan Cottingham. "For a young team I was encouraged with only committing seven turnovers. Defensively we have a long way to go but I think we have the ability to get much better."
"Rob provided the leadership we need from our lone senior and I thought several guys played well including Xavier Prather, Thomas Starks, and Greg Hamilton." Added Cottingham
Freshman, Thomas Starks had an impressive debut scoring 15 points hitting six of ten from the field, including three of five from 3-point range.
The game was tight from start to finish as neither team could build more than an eight point lead at any point in the contest. Spring Arbor enjoyed an eight point lead with 1:16 remaining on the clock and Grace Bible had a five point lead with 7:24 remaining. There were 11 ties during the game.
The Grace Bible Tigers used balanced scoring to keep the Cougar defense hopping and were led by Brad Rosenzweig with 17 points. Former Cougar Nick Mascorro did his best to topple his ex-teammates scoring 16 points and Cameron Cramer and Jared Bradford each added 14 points to the tally for Grace.
"It's always special to play well in the Trent Allen Memorial Tournament. Trent meant a lot to so many of us as does his entire family. It was great to see Yolanda, Jewell, and Jace," said Cottingham..
This will mark the ninth straight season opening Tournament hosted by Spring Arbor that the Cougars have made it to the finals. SAU is 7-1 heading into tomorrow's tilt with the 5-0 Rochester College Warriors.
Lawrence Tech and Grace Bible College will start the second day of play in the consolation game with a tip-off time of 1:00 and 30 minutes following that game, approximately 3:15, Spring Arbor University and Rochester College will play for the Championship.
