Video Highlights: Click links in story below or click here for complete game highlights.
GOSHEN, Ind. – An early lead was not enough for the Goshen College men's basketball team to earn a "Senior Night" win as visiting Huntington University came from behind to earn an 82-70 road victory Tuesday night.
The Maple Leafs started hot, hitting 55% from the field in the first half to build as much as a 14-point cushion. The tides turned in the second half, though, with the Foresters out shooting the Leafs 42% to 32%.
Junior Jerron Jamerson scored 19 points and senior Kyle Davis added 13, but Goshen could not slow Huntington's Shane Merryman. The Crossroads League's leading scorer hit 12-of-21 from the field and 9-of-9 from the free throw line for a game-high 35 points. TJ Short added 18 points for the Foresters, while Alec Peterson had 14.
Jamerson got to the rim for a tough basket to open the scoring on Goshen's first possession (WATCH) and Matt Glick added a free throw, but a TJ Short 3-pointer (his only points of the first half) and two free throws by Merryman gave Huntington the early 5-2 lead.
Merryman continued a strong start, scoring six of the Foresters first nine points, giving his team a 9-5 advantage just three minutes in.
That is when Goshen made its run.
Stefon Luckey started a 16-2 spurt with a 3-pointer (WATCH) with Davis (WATCH), Jamerson (WATCH), Martin (WATCH), and Tavo Parral (WATCH) all scoring during the run.
Now up 23-13, the Maple Leafs held their lead between seven and 10 before making another impressive burst. Freshman Trevor Commissaris scored five points, including a basket-and-one (WATCH), during a 7-0 run that put them ahead by a game-high 14 points (34-20).
The lead was still 12 with 1:38 remaining in the first half, but Huntington managed to close the gap to single digits (44-35) before heading into the locker rooms. The Foresters big run, though, came early in the second half. A 10-1 streak was snapped by a Jamerson jumper (WATCH), but another TJ Short 3-pointer tied the score at 53-53 minutes later.
Merryman and Martin traded 3-pointers (WATCH) and the score remained tight until the final three minutes of play. Up just one (71-70), Huntington closed the game on an 11-0 run, hitting their final two field goal attempts and 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Goshen, meanwhile, was 0-for-3 and turned the ball over twice in the final three minutes.
The Maple Leafs won the battled on the boards 48-36, but had 16 turnovers to just six by the visitors. Goshen (8-20, 1-6 CL) will finish the season when they travel to Indiana Wesleyan on Saturday.