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59
St. Francis (Ind.) SFIN 20-10, 9-9 CL
67
Winner Spring Arbor (Mich.) SAU 19-11, 10-8 CL
St. Francis (Ind.) SFIN
20-10, 9-9 CL
59
Final
67
Spring Arbor (Mich.) SAU
19-11, 10-8 CL
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
St. Francis (Ind.) SFIN 29 30 59
Spring Arbor (Mich.) SAU 30 37 67

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men's Basketball closes out regular season with Senior Day win

SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – The Spring Arbor University men's basketball team took down its sixth Top 25 opponent of the campaign, defeating No. 18 ranked University of Saint Francis 67-59 in the regular season finale on Saturday.

SAU locked up the No. 4-seed in the upcoming Crossroads League Tournament with the victory and will play host to No. 5-seeded Saint Francis again on Wednesday, Feb. 26 in a quarterfinal matchup.

Prior to today's game, Spring Arbor recognized its three seniors – Luke Barber, Paul Marandet and Jeff Beckman. The 2020 senior class will go down as one of the winningest classes in the 57-year history of the program. So far, they have accumulated an 87-43 record over the past four years, including a program record 30-win season a year ago. They were also instrumental in capturing the program's first-ever Crossroads League championship and NAIA national championship last season.

 
 

THE BASICS

FINAL SCORE: Spring Arbor 67, No. 18 Saint Francis 58

LOCATION: McDonald Athletic Center | Spring Arbor, Mich.

RECORDS: Spring Arbor 19-11 (10-8 CL), Saint Francis 20-10 (9-9 CL)

 
 

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • Spring Arbor found itself down 38-34 early in the second half, but six straight points from Beckman sparked a 13-4 run that gave SAU a nine-point lead with 8:42 remaining.
  • Saint Francis chipped away at the deficit and got within two, 53-51, at the 4:00 mark, however, Payton DeWildt buried a 3-pointer to increase the Cougars' cushion back to five.
  • The visitors made one last push, closing the gap to four, 63-59, in the final minute, but a pair of free throws from Marandet and an emphatic dunk by Beckman secured the win.

 
 

FOR SPRING ARBOR

  • Marandet recorded a team-high 17 points and had three assists and DeWildt followed with 15 points. Brandon Durnell finished with 14 points and eight rebounds while Beckman posted 13 points and hauled in seven boards.
  • Spring Arbor outscored Saint Francis 38-28 in the paint and out-rebounded USF 39-31.
  • The Cougars shot 46 percent (25-for-54) on the afternoon.

 
 

FOR SAINT FRANCIS

  • Jalan Mull scored a game-high 20 points.
  • Saint Francis made 40 percent (22-for-54) of its field goal attempts.

 
 

UP NEXT

The Crossroads League Tournament is set to begin on Wednesday, Feb. 26. Spring Arbor, the tournament's No. 4-seed, will host No. 5-seed Saint Francis starting at 7 p.m. from the McDonald Athletic Center.

 
 

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