SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – The Spring Arbor University men's basketball team fell just short of stunning No. 8 University of Saint Francis (Ind.) on Tuesday night, falling 68-66 in a thrilling Crossroads League battle.
Fresh off a career performance against Taylor University, sophomore Caleb Hogans made one of the biggest plays of the game, tying the score with a driving layup – while drawing a foul – with eight seconds remaining. However, he would miss the free throw and USF's Josh Hogan rushed down the floor, and dropped in the game-winning basket as time expired to allow the visitors to narrowly escape with the victory.
The loss dropped the Cougars to 12-15 overall and 3-12 in the conference while Saint Francis improved to 21-6 on the year with an 11-4 mark in league play.
Senior Collin Hewitt and freshman Zach Medendorp hit back-to-back shots to give Spring Arbor a quick 4-0 lead to start the game, but Saint Francis answered with seven straight points and would hold its lead the rest of the half.
The visiting Cougars pushed their lead to eight twice, but each time it looked like USF was about to pull away, Spring Arbor responded, including a 6-2 run to end the half that closed the gap to four, 28-24, at the break.
The Cougars opened the second half on fire hitting their first five shots to retake the lead 35-34 at the 17:09 mark. Saint Francis showed why it was worthy of its No. 11 ranking, though, answering with a 12-2 run on the strength of its high-powered offense to grab its largest lead of the game.
However, Spring Arbor refused to back down and used a 12-0 run of its own to jump back in front with 10:06 left to play. Junior Greg Hamilton jump started the scoring spurt with five straight points and Jimmy Kodet capped it with a huge put-back while drawing the foul for an old-fashioned three point play.
The two teams would go back and forth over the next five minutes trading the lead several times before Saint Francis scored five straight points to take a late 66-61 advantage. Hamilton converted an and-one opportunity to get within two with 16 ticks remaining, setting the stage for the thrilling finish.
Spring Arbor connected on 46 percent (28-for-61) of its attempts from the field while Saint Francis, who ranks top-5 in the nation in field goal percentage, shot 57 percent (28-for-49). The Cougars held an advantage on the glass, though, out-rebounding the visitors 34-29, including a 16-8 advantage in offensive boards.
Hogans finished with a team-high 13 points and six assists. Medendorp and Hamilton followed with 12 points apiece while senior Tyler Hughes added 11. Sophomore Thomas Starks grabbed eight rebounds to go along with six points.
Spring Arbor will begin its final road swing of the season with a trip to No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan University (25-2, 13-2 Crossroads League) on Saturday, Feb. 14. The game is slated to tip at 3 p.m.
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