SPRING ARBOR, MI. – After a hard-fought loss to 10^th ranked Bethel on Wednesday night, the Spring Arbor Men's Basketball team looked to bounce back on Saturday against a Saint Francis team tied with them for 3^rd in the Crossroads League standings. 
 
The first half started out with both teams trading a few blows, before Saint Francis took  a slim 11-8 lead into the first media timeout. Two Saint Francis triples and an Aden Zank three accounted for the 17-11 count at the ten minute media break, and the two teams continued to trade buckets throughout the half, with a Saint Francis buzzer beating three giving them a 7 point advantage heading into the locker room, 38-31. Gabe Newhof and Aden Zank led the Cougar offense in the half with 9 points apiece
 
The second half proved to be just as tightly contested as the first, with the two teams battling for every possession. Spring Arbor would slowly cut into the Saint Francis lead throughout the half, keeping the margin within 6 after the final media timeout. With 4:03 remaining, Shane Rykse hit a big triple to bring Spring Arbor within a point, 67-66. Saint Francis would respond with a bucket of their own, before Kevyn Robertson brought the margin to one once again with a basket of his own. 
 
The teams traded buckets and free throws for a few possessions before a big Saint Francis shot put them ahead by 5 with 58 seconds remaining. The teams would then trade fouls and free throws for the next 45 seconds before Aden Zank hit a massive three with 12 seconds to go to cut the deficit to 2. Saint Francis split a pair of free throws to extend their lead to three, while two Travis Grayson free throws with 6 seconds left brought the Cougars back to within 1. From there, Spring Arbor fouled with five seconds remaining, and Saint Francis once again split the pair of free throws. That set up an opportunity for Spring Arbor to win the game, but a Trey Cottingham three-point attempt fell just short as Saint Francis squeaked out the win, 81-79. 
 
 
SCORE: Spring Arbor 79, Saint Francis 81
LOCATION: Spring Arbor, MI | American 1 Credit Union Arena
RECORDS: Spring Arbor 13-6, 5-4 | Saint Francis 13-6, 6-3
 
 
GAME HIGHLIGHTS

• Gabe Newhof led the way offensively once again for the Cougars, with 22 points along with 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Newhof's 22 points marks his sixth straight game with 20-plus points, and his 14^th such game in 19 contests this season. 
• Joining Newhof in double figures were Travis Grayson and Aden Zank with 14 points each. Grayson added 8 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal, along with going 9-9 from the free throw line, while Zank added 7 rebounds.  
• Other contributors in the contest included Shane Rykse, who had 9 points and 3 assists, Kevyn Robertson, with 8 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and a steal, and Dante Favor, who added 6 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 assists. 
• Saint Francis was led offensively by Isaiah Malone and Luke Almodovar who both had big-time performances in the victory. Malone led all scorers with a 30 point, 12 rebound double-double, and also added 3 blocks and 2 steals. Almodovar had 28 points and 2 rebounds. 

 
 
TEAM STATS:
FG Percentage: Saint Francis 60.0%, Spring Arbor 41.5%
3PT Percentage: Saint Francis 43.8%, Spring Arbor 30.3%
FT Percentage: Saint Francis 54.1%, Spring Arbor 88.2%
Rebounds: Saint Francis 33, Spring Arbor 33
Assists: Saint Francis 11, Spring Arbor 17
Turnovers: Saint Francis 11, Spring Arbor 10
Points off Turnovers: Saint Francis 15, Spring Arbor 13
2^nd Chance Points: Saint Francis 1, Spring Arbor 9
Bench Points: Saint Francis 5, Spring Arbor 20
Points in Paint: Saint Francis 40, Spring Arbor 26
 
 
 
Next Up: 
The Cougars start their journey through the Crossroads League for a second time as they travel to Mount Vernon, Ohio for a rematch with Mount Vernon Nazarene on Saturday, January 25^th. Tip-off will be at 3:00 PM.