PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. – A furious rally by Trinity Christian College nearly erased a 21-point deficit, but the Spring Arbor University men's basketball team held off the late charge to win 81-77 on Saturday afternoon.
The win was the third straight for the Cougars, who improved to 4-2 on the season, while the Trolls dipped to 4-3 with their second consecutive setback.
Spring Arbor would never trail after opening the game on an 8-2 run. Junior Caleb Hogans knocked down a three-pointer to give the Cougars a 10 point lead, 18-8, midway through the half, but Trinity Christian answered with 10 unanswered points to tie the score.
Senior Peter Barry halted the home team's run with two of his 12 first half points and SAU would end up taking a 38-31 advantage into halftime.
In the second stanza, behind six early points from sophomore Zach Medendorp, Spring Arbor quickly increased the margin to double digits. Leading 56-46 at the 10:00 mark, the Cougars broke the game open with a 16-5 scoring spurt to grab a 74-53 edge with 4:16 left on the clock.
However, Trinity Christian refused to go away and came storming back to cut the deficit to three, 77-74, with 25 seconds remaining. Hogans would calmly sink a pair of free throws to boost the lead back to five, but a triple from TCC got the Trolls within two in the closing seconds. Hogans would go to the line one more time, and knock down both attempts to seal the victory.
Spring Arbor shot 48 percent (28-for-58) from the floor, including 62 percent (16-for-26) in the second half. The Cougars also made the most of their trips to the free throw line converting on 22-of-26 attempts.
Hogans and freshman Anthony Qasawa finished with 15 points apiece to lead the way. Medendorp chipped in 13 and Barry added 12. Junior Thomas Starks matched his career-best with 14 rebounds while also contributing nine points.
Spring Arbor will open Crossroads League when it visits unbeaten Goshen College (7-0, 0-0 CL) on Tuesday, Nov. 24 at 7 p.m.
Men's Basketball Contact: Chris Bauman | 517-750-6504 | christopher.bauman@arbor.edu
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