GOSHEN, Ind. — Hot shooting from Goshen College fell short of hotter shooting from NAIA Division II number-16 Spring Arbor University as the Cougars claimed a 95-89 decision from the Maple Leafs in Crossroads League men's basketball action Tuesday night in Gunden Gymnasium.

Billy Geschke scored 28 points to lead the Maple Leafs (9-8, 2-3), hitting 12 of 18 field-goal tries and two 3-pointers to become the 12th player in Goshen history with 1,200 career points. Devin Heath-Granger added a season-high 19 points to go along with seven assists, leaving him five short of the 500-assist plateau for his career.

Spring Arbor's Paul Marandet led all scorers with 34 points, tossing in 10 of 16 tries from the floor and going a perfect 13-for-13 at the foul line. Tommy Hamilton added 22 points and finished the game 5-of-6 at the stripe.

The Cougars (15-2, 3-2) held the lead for much of the first half and sported a 46-42 lead at halftime before scoring five straight points to start the second period.

Goshen quickly whittled the deficit back down to two possessions, but didn't take the lead until a Geschke 3-pointer capped a 9-0 run at the 10:12 mark for a 66-64 edge. Less than two minutes later, however, the Cougars had retaliated with nine straight of their own for a 73-66 lead.

Grider's lone 3-pointer of the night stopped the bleeding and pulled Goshen back within four points, starting an 8-2 Maple Leaf spurt over the following three trips. Conner Funkhouser sank all three foul shots, part of his 15-point night, to close the hole to 75-74 with 6:11 remaining.

After forcing a turnover, Goshen had the ball with the chance to take a lead, only to watch a Heath-Granger 3-point try rattle out. SAU scored on its next four possessions while holding Goshen off the board for almost 2:40 to push the lead to 84-74 with exactly four minutes left.

Goshen scored five points on its next two possessions while forcing a pair of Cougar turnovers. With the sands of time slipping through the hourglass—Spring Arbor's two turnovers combined to run more than a minute off the clock thanks to an offensive rebound—the Maple Leafs began fouling to extend the game with 1:35 left.

Hamilton went 5-for-6 at the foul line in the last minute to salt the game away: Marandet added a final field goal with 54 seconds left, the result of another 26-second possession.

"I'm very proud of our guys' fight," said Goshen interim head coach Jon Tropf. "That's a very good team. A few mental lapses, including some by me, made the difference. We will learn and get better from this as we prepare for Saturday."

The Cougars finished the game shooting 32-for-54 (59.3 percent) from the floor and 24-of-26 (92.3 percent) at the foul line. Goshen countered with 53.2 percent (33-for-62) and 85 percent (17-for-20) respectively, bettering its season average in both categories.

Spring Arbor added 30 rebounds to Goshen's 21 as Jeff Beckman led all rebounders with seven. The Maple Leafs finished the game with six turnovers, a season low, while posting five steals.

Goshen closes a three-game homestand Saturday with the 130th installment of its rivalry with Grace College. The game tips off at approximately 3 p.m. following a women's game at 1.