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NOV.
19-20 — Goshen Takes Split At Wabash Tournament
Leafs
defeat Simpson 76-67; can't get past stubborn Little Giant team in title
game |
Crawfordsville,
IN — This weekend’s Wabash College Little Giant Tip Off
Classic was a carbon copy of last week’s Indiana University
Southeast Ramada Limited Tournament for the Goshen College men’s
basketball team, as for the second straight week the Leafs
overcame sloppy play to advance to the championship game,
only to drop the
title match in last-second fashion.
After playing sluggishly but getting past Simpson College
(IA) 76-67 Friday night, Goshen (7-2, 0-0) could not hold
on to a second-half lead in dropping an ugly
52-54 decision to host Wabash College. The Leafs’ results were eerily similar
to the prior weekend’s tournament, where Goshen slipped past Purdue University
North Central before dropping a 77-78 overtime heartbreaker to the host Grenadiers
in I.U. Southeast’s championship game.
Similar or not, this weekend’s games were Goshen’s fourth- and
fifth-straight on the road, as the Leafs will complete their 17-day, six-game
road odyssey when
they open Mid-Central Conference play at the University of St. Francis Tuesday
night. At Wabash, the team shot a combined 45 of 122 from the floor (36.8 percent)
and nine for 38 from three-point land (23.7 percent), extremely low numbers for
the normally efficient Leafs this season.
“We may have been a little leg weary, perhaps from the five-game road stretch
that we’ve been on,” said Stan Daugherty, Goshen head coach. “Overall,
the tournament allowed us to compete in a tough atmosphere against some quality
teams. I think that the experience will continue to help prepare us for conference
action.”
Daugherty’s team found itself in a big hole to start the tournament Friday
night, as Simpson jumped out to an early 20-7 lead 10 minutes into the contest.
The Leafs were able to battle back into the fray over the period’s last
10 minutes, but still went into the locker room at halftime trailing 29-34.
Goshen’s defense picked up in the second half, holding the Storm to just
a 10 for 29 shooting performance (34.5 percent) after Simpson connected on 14
of 28 first-half attempts (50 percent). Some timely shooting by junior Tyler
Sheerer, coupled with a spark from sophomore Willie Frazier helped Goshen secure
a 61-60 lead at the 4:27 mark, an advantage the team would not relinquish. On
the evening, the Leafs grabbed 16 offensive rebounds and went to the line 34
times (Simpson collected just seven offensive boards and attempted 20 foul shots),
making a big difference in the final 76-67 outcome.
Sheerer led all Leafs with 16 points on five of nine three-point shooting. Classmate
Eric Walsh chipped in 15 points to go with a game-high nine rebounds. Senior
Paul Kopanski scored 12 points on a five for seven effort from the floor, while
Frazier tallied 10 points.
“We just didn’t play well early on against Simpson,” Daugherty
said. “I thought in the second half we made some adjustments mentally and
started to play a little bit better. Tyler Sheerer brought some good intensity
and really looked for his shot. His shooting kept us in the game and allowed
our other players to get more involved. I liked the way we finished the game
with good ball movement and some solid defensive play. We had decent balance
and got a big lift from some guys off the bench.”
At the outset of Saturday’s championship game, it looked to be another
slow start for the Leafs, as Daugherty’s team found itself down 14-7 with
14:05 to play. The team’s intensity was much better, according to Daugherty,
and responded almost instantly: Just seven minutes later the game was tied at
21, and Goshen took a 32-29 lead into the intermission.
“I liked our intensity from the start of the game,” Daugherty said. “We
came out with good focus and competed all day. Our defensive effort was solid
for the most part, and we were able to overcome an early deficit in large part
due to our focus and defense.”
The Leafs eventually pushed their lead to 45-35 at the 10:34 mark in the second
half, but that’s when things became stagnant offensively. Goshen would
score just seven more points the remainder of the way, shooting just eight for
28 from the field (28.6 percent) in the second half.
Wabash wasn’t any better offensively than the Leafs in the second half
(seven for 25 from the floor, 28 percent) but got a huge benefit at the free
throw line. In the game’s final 10 minutes, Wabash went to the foul line
15 times, while Goshen managed just four shots in the same span. With the game
tied at 52 with 16 seconds remaining, junior Jordan Buller missed a three-point
attempt from the corner. Wabash took a timeout, and set up a play. A Wabash player
missed a runner in the lane, but another Little Giant was there for the tip in
with six seconds remaining.
After each team called a timeout, it was Buller that again had a look to win
the game at the buzzer, but his three-pointer as time expired fell short. The
52-54 loss was especially painful for the Leafs, as the team had a potentially
game-winning shot at the buzzer in overtime against I.U. Southeast last weekend
as well. Goshen has now dropped its only two losses of the season by a total
of three points.
“We didn’t shoot the ball well all day, and that hurt us late,” Daugherty
said. “If we would have hit just one more shot or gotten one more defensive
stop in the last three minutes, we probably would have won the game. From that
perspective, I think it was a game that can help us down the road.”
Kopanski led the offensive charge for Goshen, notching 16 points to go with 10
rebounds on eight of 11 shooting. Walsh chipped in 14 points, while Frazier provided
eight points to go with eight boards. Wabash had just one player reach double-figure
scoring with 10 points, while Goshen’s total 52-point output was the lowest
of the season.
Kopanski and Walsh were named to the all-tournament team as a result of their
play over the weekend’s games. Wabash defeated Robert Morris College (IL)
by a 72-68 score to advance to the championship game. Robert Morris needed overtime
to beat Simpson 88-86 in Saturday’s consolation game.
With Spring Arbor University joining the MCC this season — and the subsequent
restructuring of the conference schedule — Goshen will open MCC play Tuesday
night at 22nd-ranked St. Francis. Game time is set for 7 p.m. |
 Sophomore
Willie Frazier
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