GOSHEN, Ind. – The Spring Arbor University men's basketball team dropped its Crossroads League opener 90-82 at Goshen College on Tuesday night.
The loss snapped the Cougars' three- game winning streak and moved the team to 4-3 on the year. Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs remained unbeaten, climbing to 8-0 overall.
Both teams shot extremely well from the field – each shooting above 50 percent – however, Spring Arbor had trouble containing one of the league's best post players in Trevor Commissaris. Commissaris connected on 8-of-10 shots, and went 11-for-12 from the free throw line, on his way to posting a career-high 27 points.
Four Cougars scored in double figures, including freshman Anthony Qasawa who led the squad with a season-high 20 points. Junior Caleb Hogans followed with 17 while senior Greg Hamilton added 15 points and four assists. Sophomore Zach Medendorp chipped in 12 points with four rebounds.
After a back and forth first 12 minutes of action, which led to a 22-22 score, the next five minutes would be all Cougars as they built a 44-35 lead. During that stretch, SAU hit 8-of-10 shots, including four three-pointers from Qasawa.
Goshen managed to close the gap to five, 46-41, by halftime and not only erased the deficit early on the second period, but took the lead. Once the Leafs grabbed the advantage, they refused to surrender it, pushing their lead to seven, 67-60, with 9:24 remaining in the contest.
A pair of free throws from Hogans and a triple by Hamilton kept the Cougars within striking distance.
Hogans would knock down a big three-pointer with 2:27 left on the clock to make it an 81-77 game, but four consecutive free throws would help clinch the win for the Leafs.
Statistically, the teams were fairly even across the board. Both teams shot 50 percent from the field, and Goshen held a slight 31-30 edge in rebounding. The biggest difference came at the free throw line where the Maple Leafs converted on 31-of-37 opportunities while the Cougars managed just 14 trips to the charity stripe and knocking down 11 of those.
Up next, Spring Arbor (4-3, 0-1 CL) will host No. 2 Indiana Wesleyan University (6-1, 0-1 CL) on Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m.
Men's Basketball Contact: Chris Bauman | 517-750-6504 | christopher.bauman@arbor.edu
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