Spring Arbor’s Grayson Eclipses 1,000-Career Points at Taylor

Spring Arbor’s Grayson Eclipses 1,000-Career Points at Taylor
February 10, 2025

UPLAND, Ind. – The Spring Arbor University men's basketball team traveled to Taylor University on Saturday, looking for a sweep of the Trojans on the season, as well as to build on their big win over Indiana Wesleyan University earlier in the week.

The first half saw the Trojans and Cougars each knock down a few shots, with Spring Arbor holding an 8-7 lead at the first media timeout. After that break, neither team could get a shot to fall for over three minutes, before Kevyn Robertson broke the ice with a jumper, marking the only bucket scored between the 15- and 10-minute media timeouts. From there, the offense picked up a little bit, as Taylor would get within two, 14-12, with about eight minutes left, before Travis Grayson went on a 9-0 run by himself, knocking down three consecutive 3-pointers to extend the Cougar lead to 23-12. Taylor would gradually chip away at the lead for the rest of the half, getting back within two with 50 seconds to go, before another Grayson bucket with 30 seconds to go gave Spring Arbor a 35-31 lead heading into the locker room. Grayson was the major contributor in the half for the Cougars, scoring 13 points, including 3-of-3 from behind the arc, with Gabe Newhof and Dante Favor also adding eight points. Taylor's Kobe Funderburk led all scorers in the half with 14 points.

The beginning of the second half proved to be a precursor for the rest of the period, as Taylor came out and knocked down a 3-pointer, before Spring Arbor responded right away, as Favor knocked down a triple of his own. The teams continued to trade baskets, as the lead changed or the score was tied a total of 12 times in the half. With 5:17 left, a Newhof bucket tied the score at 65, and was the last basket for an extended period, before another Newhof score gave Spring Arbor the lead once again at 67-65 with 2:24 remaining. Taylor would tie it on the next possession, and both teams traded buckets again to bring the score to 69-69 with a minute left. Both teams had an opportunity to wield the dagger in the final seconds, but neither shot fell, and the fans in Odle Arena got some free basketball. Newhof led the scoring in the half with 10 points, while Grayson and Kevyn Robertson each added 9 points apiece.

In the overtime period, Spring Arbor hit a cold streak at the worst time possible. The Cougars went 1 for 12 as a team in the period, with a Newhof layup being their only points of the extra five minutes, as Taylor ran away with the contest, 83-71.

 

SCORE: Spring Arbor 71, Taylor 83 (OT)

LOCATION: Upland, Ind. | Odle Arena

RECORDS: Spring Arbor 15-9 (7-7 CL), Taylor 13-11 (6-8 CL)

 

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

  • Travis Grayson led the Cougars with 22 points, including his 1,000th career point, becoming the second Cougar this season to reach the milestone this season, and 3rd active Cougar in the exclusive club, joining Kevyn Robertson and Gabe Newhof. Grayson also had five assists, four rebounds, and two steals in the contest.
  • Joining Grayson in double figures were Newhof, Robertson, and Dante Favor. Newhof finished with 20 points, seven rebounds, two blocks, and an assist; Robertson had 15 points, seven rebounds, two blocks, an assist and a steal, while Favor added 11 points, seven boards, two assists, two steals, and a block.
  • Taylor was led in scoring by Kobe Funderburk who had 17 points in only 20 minutes off the bench. Anton Webb and Chaz Harvey also contributed to the balanced attack for the Trojans, each scoring 16 points.

 

TEAM STATS

FG Percentage: Taylor 54.4%, Spring Arbor 41.4%

3PT Percentage: Taylor 41.7%, Spring Arbor 27.3%

FT Percentage: Taylor 73.3%, Spring Arbor 70.0%

Rebounds: Taylor 36, Spring Arbor 38

Assists: Taylor 14, Spring Arbor 10

Turnovers: Taylor 14, Spring Arbor 11

Points off Turnovers: Taylor 12, Spring Arbor 13

2nd Chance Points: Taylor 7, Spring Arbor 17

Bench Points: Taylor 24, Spring Arbor 0

Points in Paint: Taylor 32, Spring Arbor 40

 

UP NEXT

The Cougars return home to American 1 Credit Union Arena to take on Goshen College in more Crossroads League action on Wednesday, Feb. 12. Tip-off is at 5 p.m.