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NOV.
23 — Leafs Start Grinder At #22 USF In 81-86 Loss
Conference
schedule starts early; Goshen can't hold onto lead on road |
Fort
Wayne, IN — This year’s Thanksgiving break came with a
unique surprise for the Goshen College men’s basketball team.
Mid-Central Conference play arrived just in time for Turkey Day.
With the addition of Spring Arbor University making the MCC a nine-team league
for the first time in 2004-2005, league play began over a month earlier than
normal, as Goshen dropped its first MCC contest by an 81-86 score Tuesday night
at the 22nd-ranked University of St. Francis. Last season the Leafs had ridden
a 15-game winning streak into the conference opener on Jan. 6 at Grace College.
This season Goshen came into the Hutzell Athletic Center with just nine games
under its belt, making the beginning of conference play much different than in
years’ past.
“It’s early to be playing (conference games), but it’s the
same situation for everyone,” said Goshen head coach Stan Daugherty. “I
think the biggest thing you’ll see is that these early league games might
not resemble second-round matchups as much as in years’ past, simply because
teams change somewhat over the course of a full season. We’ve just got
more time from the start to finish of conference play this year.”
Goshen (7-3, 0-1) found itself in a nip and tuck game with the host Cougars Tuesday
night, as the Leafs quickly responded after a 7-0 deficit to start the contest.
Daugherty’s team closed the early gap to a 13-12 St. Francis lead, but
the Cougars again showed proof of its early NAIA ranking: St. Francis pushed
its lead to 28-18 at the eight minute mark, and things looked to be getting out
of hand.
Daugherty’s team responded though, as a big three-pointer from freshman
Brice Hartman started an incredible run to finish the first period: Goshen would
outscore the Cougars by a 20 to four count in the half’s final eight minutes,
including holding St. Francis scoreless for a five and a half minute stretch
to build a 38-34 lead at the intermission.
“We finished the first half strong, beginning with good defense which helped
us initiate our offense,” Daugherty said. “I was pleased overall
with our first half effort and execution, and our play allowed us to build a
lead by halftime. I thought we had good balance in our scoring and we got a big
lift from Brice Hartman off the bench.”
St. Francis was not going to go away on its home floor, however, and by the midway
point of the second period the Cougars claimed a five-point lead. Goshen’s
offense began to get stagnant, while St. Francis began to make routine trips
to the free throw line. With just 3:52 remaining, St. Francis held a 78-67 lead — its
largest of the game — and it appeared the Cougars had the game wrapped
up.
Again, however, Goshen made a push. A deep three from junior Jordan Buller
coupled with a pair of defensive stops made the score 84-78, St. Francis, with
just 23.7
seconds remaining. After junior Eric Walsh made the first of two free throws
to make the score 84-79, the Leafs could not capitalize on an offensive rebound
of Walsh’s second charity toss. That missed chance — which could
have cut the Cougars’ lead to just four or three points — was the
last opportunity for Goshen to steal an early road conference win.
“The second half we didn’t play well, especially in the middle 10
minutes,” Daugherty said. “I thought that was the difference in the
ballgame. St. Francis made a very conscious effort to attack us in the low post
and we didn’t defend as well as we had been. They shot the ball well in
the second half, but we didn’t make them work as hard to score. Overall,
we did some good things in the game, but not enough good things to win in the
conference.”
Goshen was led by Walsh’s season-high 28 points and six rebounds, while
Buller scored 16 to go with six assists. Senior Paul Kopanski chipped in 11 points
and five rebounds, while sophomore Matt Crawford knocked in nine. Goshen was
able to connect on 27 of 58 shot attempts (46.6 percent) on the night, but St.
Francis’ 16 of 23 clip (69.6 percent) in the second half was entirely too
much for Goshen to withstand.
“We have to get more consistency from minute to minute to win games in
our league,” Daugherty said. “I thought we competed well, but now
we must have more consistent execution on both ends of the floor while maintaining
our competitiveness.”
Goshen will not have a lengthy Thanksgiving break, as the team will host Tri-State
University on Saturday. The home contest will mark the end of a 17-day, six-game
road trip for the Leafs. Game time is set for 3 p.m. in the Roman Gingerich Center. |
 Junior
Eric Walsh
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