Box Score Spring Arbor, MI - The Spring Arbor Cougars and Grace Lancers battled for the full 40 minutes last night, with the Cougars coming up just short in front of an electric home crowd, losing by a score of 64-69.
 
In a game that had more of a postseason atmosphere than a regular season one, the Cougars did not disappoint, as they played one of their grittiest games of the season. A win would secure home court in a first round Crossroads League tournament contest, as well as vault the Cougars well into the NAIA national tournament conversation.
 
In the first quarter, the Cougars started out with undeniable charisma, and led 9-7 midway through the quarter. From that point on, however, the Lancers found their groove. Their quick tempo offensively took center stage, as they finished the quarter on a 13-6 run to create a 20-13 lead heading into the second.
 
The Lancers quickly grew their lead to 10 points, but the Cougars slowly chipped at the Lancer lead, and following a Sydney Aunins bucket at the 2:52 mark, trailed 23-27.
 
The Lancers responded with a quick basket of their own to bring the lead back to six, which resulted in a furious finish to the quarter for the Cougars, who used a 10-0 run to storm back and take a four point lead of their own into the intermission, leading 33-29.
 
The Cougars managed to maintain their slight advantage for the majority of the third quarter, as they led by as little as two points and as much as six at various points of the quarter.
 
A lay-up from Alana Nelson with under a minute to go brought the Cougar lead back to four, and following several solid defensive possessions by the Cougars, they held that same halftime advantage of four points heading into the decisive fourth period of action.
 
The Lancers came out firing, and ripped off five straight points to take a one point lead at the 9:05 mark. The teams proceeded to trade buckets, as the fourth quarter saw numerous ties and lead changes.
 
Down six midway through the quarter, the Cougars went on a run that injected life into their squad as well as the home crowd by capping off a 9-0 burst with an Alex Long triple from the right wing to take a 61-58 lead with 3:50 to play.
 
The momentum began to shift in the final minutes of the contest, however, as the Lancers took back their lead and boasted a three point advantage following a lay-up with 47 seconds remaining. The next Cougar possession, Alana Nelson was double teamed on the block, but found a slashing Alex Long who converted a lay-up to bring the deficit back to one with 32 seconds left.
 
The Lancers nearly gave their lead away after an errant inbounds pass rolled into the backcourt untouched, but the Cougars were called for a loose ball foul after Long attempted to dive after the basketball, clipping a Lancer player and, to the dismay of the Cougar faithful, resulted in a whistle call. The Lancers calmly knocked down both free throws, which proved to seal the game, as they went on to win 69-64.
 
With the loss, the Cougars finish the regular season at 9-9 in league play for an overall finish of 5th, and now enter the Crossroads League tournament with a trip to the 4th seeded St. Francis Cougars next Tuesday night.
 
The Basics:
Spring Arbor 64, Grace 69
Spring Arbor, MI
Spring Arbor 19-9, (9-9 CL) Grace 20-8, (13-5 CL)
 
Game Starts:
- Spring Arbor was led offensively by a trio of Cougars, with Alana Nelson scoring 15, Alize Tripp scoring 14 and Alex Long scoring 13.
- Alana Nelson dominated the glass all game, finishing with a game-high 18 rebounds.
- Alize Tripp offered an efficient stat line alongside her 14 points, adding four rebounds and six assists.
- Both teams struggled with offensive efficiency, with the Lancers hooting 41% from the floor and 15% from three, while the Cougars shot 37% from the field and 23% from three.
- Additionally, both teams struggled from the free throw line, with both teams only converting on 65% of their tries from the charity stripe. Each has maintained over 70% shooting from the free throw line this season.
- The Lancers were led by Kiersten Findley, who notched a double-double on the night; scoring 20 points and grabbing down 13 rebounds.
 
Next Up: The cougars will open up the conference tourney on the road, traveling to Ft. Wayne, IN to face the St. Francis Cougars.