SPRING ARBOR, MI – It was close. Very close, but Concordia University's John Schaeffer hit a crucial 3-pointer for the Cardinals to give the visitors from Ann Arbor a 73-70 win over Spring Arbor University on Tuesday night on the campus of Spring Arbor University.
The Cougars were down by 21 points with 15 minutes left in the game and it didn't look good for the home team, but somewhere deep down, the boys in blue and gold found the internal fortitude to climb their way back and tied the game up with less than a minute to play. It was that familiar last name of Hogans that knotted the score, not once but twice for Spring Arbor down the stretch. But it was Caleb Hogans this time, Rob's younger brother that hit a big layup to tie the game up at 68-68 with 53 seconds left and then again when Caleb Hogans hit a pair of free throws with 43 seconds remaining to tie it up at 70 points each.
It wasn't a huge run that Spring Arbor back into the game, but a steady mix of tenacious defensive pressure and taking good shots that got the Cougars back in the game.
Spring Arbor trailed the Cardinals 40-24 at the half after committing 13 turnovers in the first 20 minutes of action.
Spring Arbor went cold from long range missing all seven of the 3-pointers taken in the contest.
Rob Hogans led Spring Arbor with 21 points, grabbing four rebounds, and making five steals in the game. Greg Hamilton added 13 points hitting 7-8 from the free throw line, and Caleb Hogans netted 12 points including 10 in the second half. The younger Hogans made three steals in the game..
Spring Arbor falls to 2-1 and will host this weekend's Crossroads / WHAC Challenge as Indiana Wesleyan, Aquinas College, and Cornerstone University all come to town. Friday night's game include IWU and Cornerstone at 6:00 and following that tilt will be Spring Arbor and Aquinas at approximately 8:00. On Saturday, Indiana Wesleyan will take their turn at Aquinas at 1:00 and Spring Arbor and Cornerstone will conclude the weekend and face each other at approximately 3:00 pm.
