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FEB.
16 — Leafs Eclipse 20-Win Mark For Second Season
Goshen's
90-60 win over Andrews makes history on brink of
MCC Tournament |
Berrien Springs, MI — In and of itself,
the Goshen College men’s basketball team’s 90-60 win over
Andrews University on Wednesday evening did not bear extraordinary value.
In the large scope of things, however, it couldn’t have been more
important.
The Leafs’ victory over the Cardinals was the 20th win of the season
for the team, marking just the second time in program history that a Goshen
squad had reached that plateau. Goshen finished last season with an overall
win-loss record of 21-12, while this year’s squad currently boasts
a 20-10 mark with one regular-season game remaining.
“Winning 20 games was a goal of mine when I first took this job,
and now that we’ve done it in back to back seasons makes it even
more special,” said Stan Daugherty, Goshen head coach. “Coming
into this year, I wasn’t sure if we could get to that mark again,
not because we weren’t as good but simply because our schedule was
so much more difficult (than in the 2003-2004 season). It really
is a testament to our kids and how hard they’ve worked to improve,
though. Now our goal is to finish this thing off right by playing our
best basketball
of the year on Saturday and into the conference tournament.”
Perhaps the most important aspect of Goshen’s success this season
lies within the Mid-Central Conference ranks, where the team’s current
8-7 record has positioned the Leafs for a first-round home game
in next week’s MCC Tournament, marking the first time in program
history Goshen has hosted an MCC Tournament game. After the results
of Tuesday night’s
MCC action — Goshen had the bye and was idle — the Leafs are
guaranteed no worse than a fourth-place finish in conference
standings, locking in a first round home tournament contest next
Wednesday night.
A win over Grace College on Saturday or a Marian College loss
would keep Goshen (20-10, 8-7) in third place within the MCC.
For a complete view
of MCC standings and possible conference finishing scenarios,
click here.
“Our goal coming into this year was to improve in conference play,” Daugherty
said. “We tried to make our pre-conference schedule more demanding
in hopes that it would better prepare us for the rigors of the
MCC season. I believe that some of those games did help us, and now we’re
in the position that we wanted to be in.”
Wednesday night’s game against Andrews did not prove to be a rigorous
task for the Leafs, but a much-improved Cardinals squad did make Goshen
work to secure the win. Daugherty’s team slowly built a 39-24 halftime
lead behind an aggressive offensive game plan that resulted in 19 first-half
free throws (and an eventual 44 charity tosses for the contest). The Leafs
upped their shooting from the field to 62.5 percent in the second period
(15 for 24) in cruising to the 30-point win.
All dressed players scored for Goshen save for freshman Brice
Hartman, who sprained his left ankle just three minutes into the game.
His status is questionable for Saturday. Junior Eric Walsh paced a balanced
scoring attack with 17 points and 10 rebounds, knocking in all but four
points at the free throw line. Freshman Tyler Stotler scored 13 points,
while senior Paul Kopanski and sophomore Willie Frazier each scored 11.
Senior Troy Springer tallied 10 points and five rebounds. Junior Tyler
Sheerer added nine points to go with four assists.
“Our younger guys really did a nice job in extended minutes tonight,” Daugherty
said. “They all handled the ball well and gave very good effort.
This was a good game in that we were able to get everyone a lot
of quality minutes, and most everyone took advantage of the opportunity.”
Goshen will wrap up the regular season Saturday afternoon, when
the team will conclude the MCC’s regular-season slate at Grace College.
Game time is set for 3 p.m. Goshen’s final seeding and first-round
MCC Tournament opponent will not be decided until all of Saturday’s
MCC games have been played. Check back to this website for the most up-to-date
schedule and post-season status. Regardless of where the Leafs finish
within conference standings, the team will host a first-round MCC Tournament
game on Wednesday night, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. in the Roman Gingerich Center.
Tickets can be purchased through the Goshen College athletic department.
For ticket information call (574) 535-7496.
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  Senior
Troy Springer
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