WINONA LAKE, Ind. – The Spring Arbor University men's basketball team fell to No. 20 Grace College 70-57 inside the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center on Tuesday night.
The Cougars trailed the Lancers by just six at halftime, but a slow start in the second half allowed the home team to extend its lead to double digits and hang on for the win.
Freshman Zach Medendorp went 6-for-9 from the field to record a team-high 14 points with two blocks. Junior Greg Hamilton and sophomore Caleb Hogans followed with 10 points apiece.
Medendorp opened the game with back-to-back baskets to help propel the Cougars out to a quick 7-2 lead. The Cougars were red-hot from the field early on, connecting on seven of their first eight attempts to push the margin to eight, 16-8, at the 13:30 mark.
Grace (19-6, 9-4 Crossroads League) slowly began to chip away at the deficit, however, and tied the game at 22-22 with under eight minutes remaining in the first period.
Senior Collin Hewitt and Hogans responded with consecutive three-pointers to put SAU on top again, but Grace rallied back and grabbed their first lead, 30-29, with 3:32 left on the clock. The Lancers would end the half on a 7-2 run to take a 37-31 advantage into the break.
In the second half, the Cougars struggled to find their rhythm offensively, hitting just one of their first five shots while turning the ball over four times. The Lancers capitalized on the early miscues, boosting their lead to 14, 47-33, at the 15:11 mark.
Moments later, freshman Isaiah Ingles buried a triple and sophomore Isaac Love followed with a jumper to close the gap to nine. Grace answered with six straight points, however, and would maintain its comfortable cushion the rest of the way.
Overall, both teams shot well in the game. The Cougars ended the night shooting 47 percent (22-for-47), including going 5-for-11 from behind the arc. Meanwhile, the Lancers shot 50 percent (28-for-56). The home team also held the edge in rebounding, which proved to be the difference in the game. Grace out-rebounded SAU 30-20, and hauled in 13 offensive boards which it turned into 18 second chance points.
Spring Arbor (11-14, 2-11 Crossroads League) will return home to host Taylor University (11-14, 2-11 Crossroads League) on Saturday, Feb. 7 at 3 p.m.
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