Seniors Shine as Taylor Dominates Overtime in Thrilling Win Over Spring Arbor

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UPLAND, Ind. – Taylor honored four seniors, Anton Webb, Kobe Funderburk, Kaden Fuhrmann, and Caleb Hodgson, before an exciting overtime victory over Spring Arbor on Saturday afternoon, in which every senior was a key contributor.

After going into the extra period knotted at 69, the Trojans scored the first 14 points in overtime to run away with an 83-71 victory on Senior Day. After Webb scored the first six points for Taylor, Spring Arbor had a golden opportunity to get on the board. On a three-on-one fast break for the Cougars, Fuhrmann stepped up with a terrific defensive play, taking a charge to keep the momentum with the Trojans. The senior then stepped up and nailed a triple to extend the advantage on the next possession.

The defense in overtime was excellent, forcing three turnovers, which was more than the two points Spring Arbor (15-9, 7-7 CL) was able to muster on 1-12 shooting from the field.

TU trailed by four at halftime and quickly tied things at 38 before the teams started trading baskets, as neither squad held more than a four-point edge the rest of the second half. There was offense aplenty to begin the half as the teams combined to make 11 of 15 shots from the field before the first media timeout.

The score was knotted at 59 a piece with eight minutes remaining in regulation, and the teams proceeded to trade two-point buckets down the stretch until it was level at 69 with a minute left. A three-point shot was missed by each team to send it to the extra stanza.

A back-and-forth start to the game had the score at 8-7 in favor of the Cougars within five minutes and went unchanged over the next four minutes, and shortly after a 9-0 run from Spring Arbor saw them take a 23-12 lead.

Funderburk came off the bench and ignited the Trojan offense in the first half, getting hot from beyond the arc and splashing in a trio of triples. The senior guard was on such a tear he forced the Cougars to close out and foul him on an attempt from three-point and promptly cashed in on all three free throws. Funderburk finished the half with 14 points on seven shots from the field and finished the day with a team-leading and career-high 17 points.

Seniors Webb and Fuhrmann joined Funderburk in double-digits, with 16 and 11 respectively. The guard duo of Chaz Harvey and Jackson Ullom also scored in double figures, with Harvey scoring 10 of his 16 points in the second half.

The Trojans dominated bench scoring, 24-0, as all nine TU players who saw the floor scored. The shooting percentages tilted in favor of the home squad, hitting 54.4 percent of shots and 41.7 from beyond the arc compared to just 41.4 percent and 27.3 for the Cougars.

Taylor (13-11, 6-8 CL) plays on the road against cross-county rival RV Indiana Wesleyan (16-8, 6-8 CL) on Wednesday, February 12, in a game with Crossroads League Tournament implications, with the squads tied in 6th. Tip-off is set for 7:00 pm inside Luckey Arena.