HENDERSON, Tenn. – Behind a career-high 33 points from Travis Grayson, Spring Arbor University defeated Cornerstone University 83-81 in the NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship First Round on Friday afternoon.

THE BASICS

SCORE: Spring Arbor 83, Cornerstone 81

LOCATION: Henderson, Tenn. | Freed-Hardeman University

RECORDS: Spring Arbor 20-10, Cornerstone 22-10

GAME NOTES

• In a rematch of the first game of the season, Spring Arbor faced off against Cornerstone in the first round of the national tournament Friday afternoon. And, just like what happened back on Oct. 31, the Cougars came out on top.
• Travis Grayson scored 20 of his career-high 33 points in the first half to help give SAU a 40-38 advantage at the intermission.
• Spring Arbor led throughout most of the second half, including a 10-point lead, 63-53, with 10:44 remaining in the game.
• With less than a minute to go, the Cougars led by eight, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Cornerstone cut the deficit to two, 80-78, with 31 seconds remaining.
• A pair of free throws from Grayson widened the margin to four, but the Golden Eagles would sink another triple to get within one, 82-81, with 14 seconds left.
• After another Grayson free throw put SAU up two, Cornerstone had one last chance, but its 3-point attempt at the buzzer came up empty.
• Grayson finished with 33 points on 12-of-16 shooting, including a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the arc. He also added five assists. Gabe Newhof and Kevyn Robertson recorded double-doubles. Newhof had 18 points and 13 rebounds while Robertson posted 10 points and 10 rebounds. Dante Favor collected 11 points and nine rebounds.

UP NEXT

Spring Arbor faces off against the defending national champions, and No. 1-seed, Freed-Hardeman (27-5) on Saturday, Mar. 15 at 3 p.m. ET. The winner advances to the NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship final site in Kansas City.