Spring Arbor trips up No. 14 Huntington

Huntington, Ind. – The Cougars of Spring Arbor tripped up the 14th-ranked HU men's basketball team by handing their hosts a 62-58 loss Saturday afternoon inside Platt Arena. The loss snaps a five-game win streak Huntington brought into the contest.  

The win is the Cougars' first against HU since January of 2020, snapping a nine-game win streak Huntington was lording over them.

While both team's defense made scoring a rarity on this given day, the Foresters felt the brunt of it. After taking a 33-29 lead into intermission, HU's offense sputtered. In the final 20 minutes, they found the bottom of the net just seven times at a clip of 25.9 percent.

Despite their offensive woes after break, Alford's crew still managed to hang on to a lead throughout the first eight minutes of the second period. Tied at 40-40 with 12 minutes to go, the two teams jockeyed for the lead with SAU (17-9, 9-7) finally laying claim to a permanent advantage with just under five minutes remaining on a Dante Favor traditional three-point play.  

Favor scored twice more in a 45-second spurt on either side of a pair of freebies by Landen Jordan for a 58-53 difference with 2:10 on the clock. The Foresters pulled within two after that but would get no closer.

Lane Sparks led Huntington with 16 points to go along with seven rebounds. Drew Goodline finished with 15 points and five boards while Jordan added 12 points and a team-best nine rebounds.

Gabe Newhof, the league's second leading scorer behind Sparks, tossed in a game-best 22 points. Favor posted ten points and 11 rebounds while Kevyn Robertson finished with 14 points.

With this loss, HU drops to 20-6 overall which includes a 10-6 CL record. Huntington will look to bounce back on Wednesday when they take on Taylor at 7:30 p.m.

The Huntington University Foresters compete in 18 intercollegiate sports for men and women. In the past decade, Huntington has produced 160 NAIA All-America honors and 567 All-America Scholar Athlete honors. Huntington University is a comprehensive Christian college of the liberal arts offering graduate and undergraduate programs in more than 70 academic concentrations. U.S. News & World Report ranks Huntington among the best colleges in the Midwest.