SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – The Spring Arbor University men's basketball team hosted the red hot Trojans of Taylor University in a mid-week Crossroads League battle. Trailing by two in the final seconds, Spring Arbor had three chances at the rim in the closing seconds to tie the game but could not get any of them to fall as the Trojans held on 68-66 to remain unbeaten.

THE BASICS

FINAL SCORE: Spring Arbor 66, #12 Taylor 68

LOCATION: SAU Fieldhouse | Spring Arbor, Mich.

RECORDS: Spring Arbor 4-5 (0-2 CL), Taylor 9-0 (2-0 CL)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Taylor jumped out to a 10-0 lead early and pushed it to as much as 31-17 half way through the first half. Taylor did not miss from deep early hitting their first four triples of the contest.
• The Cougars would rally in the first half behind the hot hand of Caleb Hogans, who would hit back-to-back three's in the midst of an 8-0 run. The run would help trim the deficit to 38-34 heading into the break. Hogans led all scorers in the first half with 16 points.
• Spring Arbor continued playing well into the start of the first half taking their first lead of the night on a Hogans free throw, which capped a 26-11 run for the Cougars.
• The Trojans would calm the storm taking the lead right back on an 8-0 run of their own started by a pair of Mason Degenkolb layups and then a banked in three from Lane Vander Hust pushing the lead to 50-43.
• The teams would trade buckets back and forth up until the 6:30 mark where Spring Arbor turned up the heat defensively. Creating turnovers that led to easy buckets and only allowing two Trojan field goals down the stretch helped the Cougars to trim the lead to two with 29 seconds left.
• Coming out of a timeout the Cougars turned Taylor over in the back court. Holding for the last shot SAU missed a trio of point blank attempts in the final five seconds to tie the game up. Taylor would secure one last rebound and a big conference road victory.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE

• The Cougars out-rebounded the Trojans in the contest 41-31 dominating the glass with their length.
• Spring Arbor struggled to score in the second half only shooting 37 percent from the field. However, their defense kept them in the contest holding Taylor to 43 percent from the field and suffocating the Trojan offense to their lowest output of the season.
• Hogans was the star of the night for the Cougars with 26 points, seven boards and four assists. The only other Cougar in the double figures was Thomas Starks with 12, with 10 of those coming in the second half.

FOR THE TROJANS

• Ryan Haggeland was the spark the Trojans needed, leading the way with 19 points, a block and four boards.
• Degenkolb was right behind with 18 points, three assists and two steals, with Keaton Hendricks adding 14 points, two steals and two blocks.
• Taylor starts the season 9-0 for the first time since 1984. The last six games between SAU and TU have a combined 10 point differential with all being decided by four points or less.

UP NEXT

Spring Arbor will stay at home for another Crossroads League battle when Marian University comes to town on Saturday, Dec. 3. Tip is set for 3 p.m.

Men's Basketball Contact: Chris Bauman | 517-750-6504 | christopher.bauman@arbor.edu
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