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JAN.
22 — Leafs Out-Muscle St. Francis For 99-86 Win
Goshen
puts game away with 27-5 run to close out first half
in physical affair |
Goshen, IN — With a blizzard brewing
over the northern third of Indiana on Saturday, the University of St.
Francis men’s basketball team made the decision to brave the weather
and make the trek to the Roman Gingerich Center for a 3 p.m. contest
with the Leafs.
About eight minutes of play made them wish they probably hadn’t.
With St. Francis leading by a 27-21 score and 8:13 remaining
in the first half, Goshen (16-7, 5-4) turned on a 27 to five
scoring explosion to end the period, turning that six-point deficit
into a 48-32 lead at
the intermission. During that run, Goshen connected on five of
six three-point tries while the Cougars missed five threes, effectively
blowing the doors
open on a physical game that was hotly contested otherwise.
“I was very proud of our effort defensively and the passion that
we had for the game this afternoon,” said Stan Daugherty, Goshen
head coach. “Our finish to the last eight minutes in the first half
was as well as we have played since I have been here (as head
coach). We defended well, rebounded well, and obviously shot the ball
well. This
was a very big win for us today.”
Physicality was the theme early on in the contest, as both teams
were allowed to bang inside by game officials. St. Francis scored the
first bucket of the game, but Goshen stayed close. After eight lead changes
and four ties in the game’s opening 12 minutes, it was the Leafs
that would play brilliant basketball to close out the first period. Goshen’s
27 to five scoring outbreak to close the first half was highlighted by
a 58.6 percent shooting percentage overall in the opening period (17 of
29 from the floor), while the team buried a ridiculous eight of 11 from
three-point land (72.7 percent).
And while St. Francis was able to cut the Leafs’ 16-point halftime
lead to 11 points on one occasion (a 67-56 score with 11:42 remaining),
it was as tight as the game would get. The Cougars would creep no closer
than a 13-point deficit over the contest’s final nine minutes, as
the Leafs got even hotter from the field in the second half. Daugherty’s
team converted 13 of 21 shots from the floor in the final 20 minutes (61.9
percent), giving the team an even 60 percent shooting clip (30 for 50)
for the game.
“We have spent a lot of time working on adjustments for the second
half of conference play, but in the end it comes down to our
energy, effort and enthusiasm,” Daugherty said. “We brought
a lot of those things today.”
Junior Eric Walsh was again a large force within Goshen’s offense, scoring
23 points to go with 10 rebounds. Sophomore Willie Frazier notched 19 points
to complement nine boards, while junior Jordan Buller scored 17 and dished out
five assists. Senior Paul Kopanski notched 10 points, while sophomore David Haire
and freshman Brice Hartman scored eight each. Freshman Tyler Stotler also played
a large role, scoring seven points and dishing out two assists without a turnover.
“Tyler Stotler, Brice Hartman and David Haire all played well off the bench,” Daugherty
said. “It was the best effort defensively that Tyler Stotler has had all
year. Brice continued to shoot the ball well and David is getting stronger from
his injury. I still wanted to monitor David’s minutes, but he has shown
the strength to go for longer stints in games.”
With inclement weather postponing the Marian College-Spring Arbor University
contest, Saturday’s win placed Goshen in sole possession of third place
in the Mid-Central Conference with a 5-4 record. It is the first time in the
history of the program that Goshen has held onto a third-place position this
late into the conference season.
“We have a long way to go in the league, but this was an important win
for us
right now,” Daugherty said. “Hopefully, we can have some momentum
for the road trips this week. It is never easy in this conference, but I like
how competitive we are each night out.”
Goshen will travel to Spring Arbor on Tuesday night. Game time is set for 7 p.m. |
  Sophomore
Willie Frazier
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