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DEC.
9 — Goshen Knocks Off IWU For Big MCC Win
Squad
evens conference mark at 2-2 with 75-59 defeat of Wildcats |
Marion, IN — Behind a patient attack
on offense and a steady intensity on defense, the Goshen College men’s
basketball team evened its record in the Mid-Central Conference Thursday
night, defeating Indiana Wesleyan University by a 75-59 score. The win
came on the heels of final examination week for the Leafs, and gave
the team a much needed league win to close out pre-Christmas MCC competition.
“This was a great conference win on the road for us, and I was
proud of our effort and intensity for the greater part of the
game,” said
Stan Daugherty, Goshen head coach. “You can’t win on the road
by double-digits very often in this league, so we’re obviously very
happy to get this one tonight.”
The 16-point loss was the greatest margin of defeat for the Wildcats
this season, which had lost four games by a total of six points coming
into Thursday night’s contest. Early on, the game appeared to be
a classic MCC battle, as both teams traded leads through the first 15
minutes. Goshen (10-4, 2-2) was able to take a 30-27 lead on a Brice Hartman
(freshman) field goal at the 1:06 mark in the first half, and neither
team could add to its’ scores for the remainder of the period.
Goshen had no trouble adding to its point total to begin the
second half, however, as a 12 to one run over the period’s first
five minutes opened a 42-28 advantage for the Leafs. That push
proved to be the difference, as Indiana Wesleyan would get no closer
than nine points for the remainder of the game. Daugherty’s team
pushed its lead to 16 points — 56-40 — at the 6:37 mark, and
was able to hold on despite connecting on just 10 of 16 free throws down
the stretch to earn the win.
“I thought that in the first half, we were a bit sluggish but
tried our best to fight through it,” Daugherty said. “In the
second half I thought we came out very focused both offensively
and defensively, and we maintained that focus throughout the final 20
minutes of play.”
After a rather statistically even first half, Goshen controlled
the game in the second. The Leafs connected on 15 of 29 second half shots
(51.7 percent) while holding Indiana Wesleyan to just a 13 for 37 performance
(35.1 percent). The Leafs outrebounded the Wildcats by a 23 to 18 count
in the second half, and attempted 21 free throws to Wesleyan’s seven.
If there was a severe difficulty to Goshen’s win it was at the charity
stripe, where the Leafs connected on just 20 of 32 (62.5 percent) for
the night.
“I was proud of our overall level of play except for at the free
throw line, where we need to get better,” Daugherty said. “Wesleyan
tried to extend the game late by fouling us, and we had some
troubles converting. That’s an area where we have to get tougher
mentally.”
Junior Eric Walsh led the scoring charge for Goshen, notching
17 points to go with 10 rebounds despite an unusually low performance
at the free throw line (five for 11). Classmate Jordan Buller chipped
in 15 points and six rebounds, while sophomore Willie Frazier charted
12 points to go with a game-high 11 rebounds. Sophomore David Haire knocked
in nine points, while senior Paul Kopanski and Hartman each finished with
eight points.
The Leafs will now travel to Florida for a pair of contests,
as Goshen will face NCAA Division II Palm Beach Atlantic University
on Monday. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
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 Sophomore
David Haire
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