MARION, Ind. – The Spring Arbor University men's basketball team suffered a 96-77 defeat at No. 3 ranked Indiana Wesleyan University inside Luckey Arena on Saturday afternoon.
With the win, the Wildcats maintained their position at the top of the Crossroads League standings with a 14-2 league record, holding a one game lead over Marian University with two games remaining in the regular season. The Cougars are now 8-8 in conference play and tied for fourth place with the University of Saint Francis.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Spring Arbor 77, No. 3 Indiana Wesleyan 96
LOCATION: Indiana Wesleyan University | Marion, Ind.
RECORDS: Spring Arbor 17-11 (8-8 CL), Indiana Wesleyan 24-4 (14-2 CL)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- It was a back and forth first half with seven ties and nine lead changes through the first 20 minutes. Payton DeWildt scored to tie the game with 1:29 remaining in the opening stanza, but IWU's Kyle Mangus would record six unanswered points to give the Wildcats a 45-39 lead at halftime.
- Spring Arbor trailed by three, 57-54, at the 14:34 mark of the second half. However, the Wildcats began to separate themselves with an 11-3 run over a four-minute span.
- Moments later, another IWU run would balloon the margin to 20 and put the game out of reach.
FOR THE COUGARS
- Brandon Durnell was one of four Spring Arbor players to reach double figures with 17 points. Jeff Beckman and Luke Barber recorded 14 points apiece while DeWildt added 11.
- Beckman continues to close in on the 1,000 point milestone and now has 997 for his career.
- Paul Marandet finished with eight points, seven assists and four rebounds.
- Spring Arbor made 50 percent (26-for-52) of its shots on the afternoon, including 45 percent (10-for-22) from 3-point range.
FOR THE WILDCATS
- Noah Smith paced Indiana Wesleyan, making four 3-pointers on his way to scoring 23 points. Mangas tallied 20 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
- The Wildcats shot 53 percent (38-for-71) overall and 62 percent (13-for-21) from long range.
UP NEXT
Spring Arbor will visit Goshen College (4-24, 0-16 CL) on Tuesday, Feb. 18 before wrapping up the regular season at home against Saint Francis (19-9, 8-8 CL) on Saturday, Feb. 22.
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