FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Brandon Durnell dropped 22 points and hit a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer to propel No. 8 Spring Arbor University to a 71-70 come from behind win over the University of Saint Francis on Tuesday night.
Spring Arbor erased a 20-point first half deficit to complete the season sweep of Saint Francis – the first time the team has accomplished the feat since the 2009-10 season. The win also pushed the Cougars’ winning streak to four, and kept SAU at the top of the Crossroads League standings.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: No. 8 Spring Arbor 71, Saint Francis 70
LOCATION: Hutzell Athletic Center | Fort Wayne, Ind.
RECORDS: Spring Arbor 18-3 (8-1 CL), Saint Francis 12-9 (5-4 CL)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Spring Arbor got off to a slow shooting start, going 5-for-18 from the field over the first 10 minutes. Saint Francis made the most of the opportunity and opened up a 20-point lead, 32-12, with 8:18 remaining in the first half.
- The Cougars chipped away at the deficit before halftime and only trailed by nine, 42-33, heading into the locker room.
- SAU began the second half on fire with a 10-0 run to take its first lead of the evening. Luke Barber got the started with a three-pointer and Durnell capped the scoring spurt with another trey.
- The game was back-and-forth the rest of the way with 11 lead changes and no team ever leading by more than four.
- With the score tied in the final minute, Saint Francis’ Chandler White sank a pair of free throws to give USF a two-point lead with 19 seconds to play setting the stage for Durnell’s heroics. In the closing seconds, Paul Marandet drove to the basket before kicking a pass out to Durnell at the top of the arc, and the Fort Wayne native buried the game-winner as time expired.
FOR SPRING ARBOR
- Durnell recorded a game-high 22 points on 7-for-17 shooting, including going 4-for-5 from three-point range. He also added eight rebounds and two assists.
- Barber finished with 16 points going 7-for-8 from the field while Marandet registered his fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 assists. Jeff Beckman also scored in double figures, scoring all 10 of his points in the second half.
- After shooting 37 percent (11-for-30) in the first half, Spring Arbor shot 53 percent (16-for-30) over the final 20 minutes.
- The Cougars scored 17 points off of nine USF turnovers.
FOR SAINT FRANCIS
- Saint Francis was led by White, who had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Three other USF players also scored in double figures.
- USF shot extremely well in the first half at a 60 percent (18-for-30) clip, but fizzled out in the second half, being held to just 32 percent (10-for-31) from the field.
- Saint Francis outscored SAU in the paint 42-26.
UP NEXT
Spring Arbor visits Goshen College (6-15, 0-9 CL) in Goshen, Indiana on Saturday, Jan. 19 before returning home to host Grace College (11-10, 1-8 CL) on Tuesday, Jan. 22 and Huntington University (13-8, 3-6 CL) on Saturday, Jan. 26.