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91
Spring Arbor (Mich.) SAU 3-2
93
Winner Madonna (Mich.) MU 3-2
Spring Arbor (Mich.) SAU
3-2
91
Final
93
Madonna (Mich.) MU
3-2
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
Spring Arbor (Mich.) SAU 42 36 13 91
Madonna (Mich.) MU 36 42 15 93

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men's Basketball falls in OT to No. 9 Madonna in Top 10 showdown

LIVONIA, Mich. – Forty minutes was not enough to decide a winner when two of the top teams in the country met on Thursday night as the No. 1 ranked Spring Arbor University men's basketball team suffered a hard-fought loss to No. 9 Madonna University 93-91 in overtime.

Spring Arbor looked to have pulled off the road win after senior Paul Marandet buried a go-ahead jumper with seven seconds left in regulation. However, Madonna forced overtime after scoring on a putback following a missed free throw before the final buzzer.

In the extra period, the Crusaders took control with a 9-0 run and would hold off a late rally by the Cougars.

Marandet dropped a career-high 36 points on 14-of-21 shooting, including four three-pointers, as SAU fell to 3-2 on the season – both losses to top-15 ranked teams in overtime.

 
 

THE BASICS

FINAL SCORE: No. 1 Spring Arbor 91, No. 9 Madonna 93

LOCATION: MU Activities Center | Livonia, Mich.

RECORDS: Spring Arbor 3-2, Madonna 3-2

 
 

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • Madonna started the night red-hot, hitting eight of its first nine shots on the way to opening up an early 18-6 lead. Spring Arbor slowly clawed its way back and tied the score at 28-28 at the 6:49 mark of the first half. Over the next four minutes, SAU used a 12-2 run to build a double-digit lead. The Cougars would take a 42-36 advantage into halftime.
  • The second half was back-and-forth the entire way with no team ever leading by more than five. Spring Arbor led by one, 76-75, in the waning seconds when Marandet hit a clutch jumper to boost the margin to three with just seven seconds left on the clock.
  • The Cougars would send the Crusaders to the free throw line on their next possession. After making the first shot, MU missed the second attempt, but grabbed the offensive rebound and scored on a putback to tie the score and send the game to overtime.
  • An old-fashioned three-point play from Brandon Durnell gave Spring Arbor an early lead in the extra period, but Madonna responded with a 9-0 to take control. The Cougars got within one point on two different occasions, but the Crusaders went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe down the stretch to hang on.

 
 

FOR THE COUGARS

  • Marandet finished the night with a game-high 36 points with 24 points coming in the second half and overtime. The senior guard was made a career-high 14 field goals, including four three-pointers – the most triples he has made in a game since sinking five during his freshman campaign.
  • Durnell had 16 points and five rebounds while Luke Barber added 11 points. Jeff Beckman posted eight points, nine rebounds and five assists, and Denver Cade chipped in nine points and six boards off the bench.
  • Spring Arbor connected on 47 percent (35-for-74) of its field goal attempts and was 9-for-28 from 3-point range. The Cougars also went 12-for-13 from the free throw line.

 
 

FOR THE CRUSADERS

  • Four Madonna players reached double figures. Dwight Burton led the way with 29 points and Henry Speight followed with 25.
  • The Crusaders shot 58 percent (33-for-57) from the floor and were 19-for-29 at the stripe.

 
 

UP NEXT

Spring Arbor will play for the third time in five days when it travels to Ohio Christian University (1-3) on Saturday, Nov. 9.

 
 

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