SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – The Spring Arbor University men's basketball team bounced back from its loss at No. 2 University of Saint Francis on Tuesday with a big time victory over No. 7 Indiana Wesleyan University, defeating the Wildcats 83-81.
A pair of clutch free throws from Drew Zuidema with nine seconds remaining put the Cougars on top and SAU would make one more, huge defensive stand to come away with the win.
The win was SAU's third over a Top 25 ranked team this season and was the first over IWU since the 2012-13 season.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: #13 Spring Arbor 83, #7 Indiana Wesleyan 81
LOCATION: SAU Fieldhouse | Spring Arbor, Mich.
RECORDS: Spring Arbor 18-4 (6-4 CL), Indiana Wesleyan 16-6 (7-3 CL)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Spring Arbor and Indiana Wesleyan teetered back-and-forth all afternoon with nine ties and nine lead changes.
- The Cougars trailed by three, 76-73, at the 3:18 mark, but Paul Marandet knocked down two free throws before a floater from Zuidema put SAU in front. Zach Medendorp capped the 6-0 scoring spurt with two more freebies, giving the home team a 79-76 advantage with 1:55 left.
- Indiana Wesleyan freshman Kyle Mangus, who recently scored 40 in a win over No. 2 Saint Francis, answered with a three-pointer to level the score.
- With 30 seconds to go and the score tied, Mangus was driving to the basket for a potential game-winner, but Marandet, a high school teammate of Mangus', stripped him and Zuidema collected the loose ball before getting fouled.
- After Zuidema's free throws, Mangus looked for redemption in the closing seconds, but Marandet forced a tough shot at the buzzer that came up empty.
FOR THE COUGARS
- Six Cougars scored in double figures, led by 18 points from Tommy Hamilton. Marandet posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 assists while Jeff Beckman also notched a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
- Mednedorp chipped in 12 points and Brandon Durnell provided a big spark off the bench with 13 points.
- Spring Arbor shot extremely well from the floor connecting on 56 percent (29-for-52) of its field goal attempts, including going 10-for-14 from three-point range.
- The Cougars' top-ranked defense forced IWU into 18 turnovers.
FOR THE WILDCATS
- Indiana Wesleyan was led by Mangus, who had 24 points. Four other Wildcats also scored in double figures.
- The Wildcats shot 60 percent (32-for-53) on the afternoon. IWU did most of its damage down low, outscoring Spring Arbor 42-26 in the paint.
UP NEXT
Spring Arbor welcomes Taylor University (12-10, 3-7 CL) on Tuesday, Jan. 23 before hitting the road for contests at Huntington University (8-14, 4-6 CL) on Saturday, Jan. 27 and Mount Vernon Nazarene University (14-8, 6-4 CL) on Tuesday, Jan. 30.
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