UPLAND, Ind. – The No. 21 ranked Spring Arbor University men's basketball traveled to No. 12 Taylor University for their first conference road test of the season. The two teams went back and forth all night as the lead never exceeded eight for either side. Leading by one with just under seven minutes to play in the second half, Spring Arbor could not find a way to slow down the high-powered offense of Taylor. The Trojans hit a couple late triple tries and held on to win 90-82.

THE BASICS

FINAL SCORE: #21 Spring Arbor 82, #12 Taylor 90
LOCATION: Odle Arena | Upland, Ind.
RECORDS: Spring Arbor 9-2 (0-2 CL), Taylor 8-1 (1-1 CL)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The two teams went back and forth in the first half. The Cougars scored the first bucket of the game and the teams traded leads five times throughout the first period. 
• Spring Arbor was lights out from deep early hitting 50 percent (6-for-12) from behind the arc. Freshman Ben Geschke knocked down two triple tries in the first half to keep the Cougars within striking distance. Freshman counter-part Brandon Durnell hit a bucket at the buzzer to trim the Trojans' first half lead to five, 46-41.
• The Cougars came out hot to start the second half going on an 11-2 run led by sophomore sensation Paul Marandet. A tough guard for anyone, Marandet found his way to the charity stripe often throughout this contest scoring nine of his 15 from the line. 
• Spring Arbor pushed its lead to four, its largest lead of the game, with 13:45 remaining in the second half as Geschke knocked down another triple.
• Taylor and its high-powered offense would not go away easily going on a quick 7-0 run, capped off by a fastbreak bucket and a foul from guard Ryan Robinson. The Trojans regained the lead 60-57.
• The Cougars found a mini run of their own as Tommy Hamilton drilled a three with 6:25 remaining to push Spring Arbor ahead by one, 68-67.
• The one point lead was the last of the game for the visitors as the Trojans got hot late, knocking down three triples in the last four minutes of the game. The lead ballooned to eight and the home team found a way to hold on, 90-82.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE

• SAU was paced by sophomore guard Paul Marandet, who had 15 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. 
• Jeff Beckman had a career night for the Cougars posting a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
• Freshmen Brandon Durnell and Ben Geschke both were in double figures with 15 and 11, respectively, and Tommy Hamilton rounded out the scoring for the Cougars with 11. Spring Arbor had five guys in double figures.

FOR THE TROJANS

• Taylor was led by the two-headed monster of Evan Crowe and Ryan Robinson, who posted 29 and 20, respectively.
• The other double-digit scorer was Jake Heggeland, who posted another double-double with 18 points and 13 boards. 
• The Trojans high-powered offense lit it up from deep going 11-for-23. They also hurt the Cougars on second chance points, outscoring the visitors 12-5.

UP NEXT

Spring Arbor will hit the road again this Saturday, Dec. 2 for a 3 p.m. tip with the Knights of Marian University.