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79
Spring Arbor (Mich.) SAU 23-6, 13-4 CL
90
Winner Indiana Wesleyan INWU 25-4, 14-3 CL
Spring Arbor (Mich.) SAU
23-6, 13-4 CL
79
Final
90
Indiana Wesleyan INWU
25-4, 14-3 CL
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Spring Arbor (Mich.) SAU 46 33 79
Indiana Wesleyan INWU 45 45 90

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Second half run pushes No. 5 IWU past No. 3 Cougars

MARION, Ind. – In a hard-fought battle between two of the nation's top teams, it was No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan University that came out on top, defeating the No. 3 ranked Spring Arbor University men's basketball team 90-79 on Tuesday night at Luckey Arena.

Spring Arbor grabbed a nine point lead early in the second half, but over the next 11 minutes, the host Wildcats would outscore SAU 31-9 and hold on to deal the Cougars their third straight setback.

Indiana Wesleyan clinches at least a share of the Crossroads League regular season championship with the win. The Cougars drop to second place in the league standings, one game back with one game to play.

 
 

THE BASICS

FINAL SCORE: No. 3 Spring Arbor 79, No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan 90

LOCATION: Luckey Arena | Marion, Ind.

RECORDS: Spring Arbor 23-6 (13-4 CL), Indiana Wesleyan 25-4 (14-3 CL)

 
 

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • The top-two teams in the Crossroads League met on Tuesday night with a chance to secure at least a share of the league's regular season crown. Both teams entered the contest, tied at the top of the standings with matching 13-3 records in conference play.
  • Spring Arbor made two big runs in the first half. Trailing 19-11 midway through the period, the Cougars outscored IWU 13-3 over a three-minute span to grab their first lead of the night. Indiana Wesleyan regained the lead moments later, and would expand the margin to eight, 43-35, at the 2:15 mark. However, SAU scored 11 of the final 13 points of the half, including a three-pointer from Paul Marandet in the final seconds, to give the Cougars a 46-45 advantage at the intermission.
  • The Cougars came out red-hot in the second half, making five of their first seven shots to take their largest lead of the game, 56-47.
  • However, the shooting would begin to cool off as the home team limited SAU to just 4-for-18 from the field over the next 11 minutes.
  • Indiana Wesleyan used a 31-9 run during that time to take control of the game and never relinquished its lead.

 
 

FOR THE COUGARS

  • Marandet recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 assists.
  • Tom Hamilton scored a season-high 19 points while adding two assists and two steals. Brandon Durnell followed with 13 points and Jeff Beckman and Luke Barber chipped in eight apiece.
  • Spring Arbor made 49 percent (29-for-59) of its shots in the game. The Cougars were 6-for-12 from three-point range in the first half, but made just one of eight attempts from long range over the final 20 minutes.
  • SAU forced Indiana Wesleyan into 15 turnovers and converted those giveaways into 25 points.

 
 

FOR THE WILDCATS

  • Four Indiana Wesleyan players scored in double figures. Kyle Mangas led IWU with 27 points, seven rebounds and five assists while Grant Smith followed with 22 points.
  • The Wildcats shot 54 percent (30-for-55) from the field and went 20-for-26 from the free throw line. IWU held a 36-26 advantage in rebounds.

 
 

UP NEXT

Spring Arbor will wrap up the regular season with a home game against Goshen College (8-21, 2-15 CL) on Saturday, Feb. 16 at 3 p.m. It will be Senior Day for the Cougars, and prior to the game the team will recognize its two seniors, Luke Barber and Tom Hamilton.

 
 

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