SPRING ARBOR, MI – It was oh, so close for senior, Rob Hogans and the Spring Arbor University Cougars. Not so much in the game against Marion University as the Cougars fell to the Knights 65-50, but for Hogans in a race against history in the career scoring lists for Spring Arbor University.
Prior to the game, Hogans was honored as the lone senior playing in his final home game and he entered the game with 1,973 career points needing 27 to reach 2,000 points in his fabulous four-year career wearing the Cougar blue and gold. It would make Hogans just the seventh player to achieve the mark, the last was Micah Lancaster (2,393) and Mike Folkert (2,012) who did it in the same year in 2006.
Hogans scored the first five points for Spring Arbor with a two and three pointer in the first three minutes of the game, and it looked promising for the senior to break the mark in front of the Cougar faithful and family and friends who traveled to see the game. But Marian did a good job of shadowing Hogans and shut him down for a bit. Hogans managed nine points in the first half and Spring Arbor trailed the Knights 17-26 in a low scoring affair on Bockwitz Court.
With 15:57 to go, the Cougars trailed the Knights by 10 (32-22) and Hogans had 11 points. And Spring Arbor's Greg Hamilton, Xavier Prather, and Hogans each scored to cut the lead to four points with the 6-0 run over three minutes of play.
Another three minutes later, the Cougar deficit remained four points as the Knight and SAU traded six points each. With the score 38-34, Spring Arbor couldn't cut into the lead any further, and as time went on, Marian started to pull away from the Cougars.
But with the outcome of the game no longer in doubt, there was still drama and that came in the form of Hogan's quest for the 2,000 point plateau.
With 1:04 left in the game, Hogans connected on a layup to score his 20th point of the game and needed seven points and 13 seconds later, 49.7 seconds on the clock, he put up a long range bomb from left center court for his 23rd points and now just four away.
After a strong drive to the basket, Hogans was fouled with 25.3 seconds left and made both free throws and was now just a fieldgoal away from the mark he was really going after.
In the remaining 25 seconds, it was excruciating to watch how close it came, and how it just never happened. A three pointer that looked good all the way did a full circle around the inside of the rim, and flew out, and a few seconds later a scramble for a rebound and a tip that bounced at least twice on the rim and a drive at the buzzer that bounced off the far side of the rim all failed to fall for Hogans as he finished the game with 25 points and 1,998 points for his career.
There is still at least one more game for the Cougars and barring a complete disaster, Hogans will reach the rare mark for a collegiate player. But the loss for Spring Arbor dropped the Cougars to 10-19 and 5-12 in the Crossroads League and that poses a little problem for SAU. Mount Vernon Nazarene 7-21, 4-13) upset Grace College 75-65 in Winona Lake, IN and MVNU and Spring Arbor will face each other on Saturday in Mount Vernon, OH for the last playoff spot in the Crossroads League post season Tournament.
The game Saturday will complete the regular season and will begin at 3:00. Scenarios for the post season tournament will be posted this week on the Crossroads League website and can be found as well on SAUCougars.com.
