UPLAND, Ind. – The Spring Arbor University men's basketball team dropped a hard-fought battle 53-52 to Crossroads League rival Taylor University on Saturday inside Odle Arena.
Trailing by one in the final seconds, Greg Hamilton forced a Trojan turnover, and the Cougars raced down the floor looking for the game-winning basket. However, Drew Zuidema's attempt at the buzzer came up empty.
The loss dropped SAU to 10-8 overall and 1-5 in the conference while Taylor improved to 11-7 with a 2-4 mark in league play.
Hamilton hit a driving layup at the 13:38 mark of the opening period to give the Cougars an 8-7 advantage, but the Trojans would respond with a 14-2 run over the next nine minutes to grab a double-digit lead. A pair of late buckets from freshman Zach Medendorp, however, would help trim the deficit to five, 23-18, at the break.
Spring Arbor stormed out of the gates in the second stanza, hitting six of its first nine shots – capped by a three-pointer from senior Collin Hewitt – to take a 33-31 lead.
After trailing by as many as six, Taylor refused to go away and used a 7-1 run to jump back in front 51-50 with 2:34 remaining. A pair of free throws from Hewitt gave SAU the lead again, but, on the ensuing possession, TU's Shakir Dunning sliced through the lane to put the Trojans on top, 53-52.
The Cougars held a slight edge in shooting and rebounding, connecting on 40 percent (18-for-45) of its attempts from the field and grabbing 28 rebounds while Taylor shot 39 percent (17-for-44) and finished with 27 boards.
Sophomore Thomas Starks and Hamilton led the way for the Cougars with 12 points apiece while Starks ripped down a game-high nine rebounds. Medendorp followed with nine points, four rebounds and two blocks and Hewitt registered eight points and four boards.
Spring Arbor returns to action against No. 9 University of Saint Francis (Ind.) (14-4, 4-2 Crossroads League) on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m., marking the first of three straight games against opponents ranked in the NAIA Top 25 Poll.
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