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NOV.
30 — Leafs Even Conference Mark With 81-78 Win
Walsh
pours in career-high 36 points to help down Spring Arbor |
Goshen, IN — Coming into Tuesday
night’s game against first-year Mid-Central Conference opponent
Spring Arbor University, the Goshen College men’s basketball team
had to find a way to make up for the absence of sophomore swingman
Matt Crawford, who’s 10.1 points per game would be unavailable
due to an injury to his right knee.
Enter Eric Walsh.
The 6-5 junior poured in a career-high 36 points on nine of 14
shooting from the field to propel Goshen (9-3, 1-1) to its first MCC win
of the season, handing Spring Arbor its first conference loss in the young
season. Walsh connected on 17 of 19 free throws and grabbed five rebounds
in the win, but Tuesday night’s events were anything but a one-man
show according to Goshen head coach Stan Daugherty.
“Obviously, Eric played a tremendous game, but this win was truly
a team effort,” Daugherty said. “Eric did a good job of handling
the ball and getting good shots, but he also trusted his teammates
in crucial situations, and we had a number of people step up and make
big
plays.”
With the Cougars coming off a monster 87-73 defeat of MCC foe
and 10th-ranked Marian College on Saturday, Daugherty said his team knew
the importance of playing well without the versatile Crawford available.
Steady team play gave Goshen a 36-25 lead with 4:48 remaining in the first
half, and the Leafs took a 42-35 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
“Our guys did a nice job of adjusting offenses without Crawford
in the lineup,” Daugherty said. “We did a decent job of playing
with intensity throughout the first half, and were able to lead
for the most part as a result.”
The second period began slightly differently, with Spring Arbor
closing the gap to 42-41 just two minutes in. Goshen again responded,
grabbing its largest lead of the game — a 63-51 lead — with
12:32 remaining. That hefty cushion was short-lived, however, as the Cougars
reeled off a 14 to two run over the game’s next four and a half
minutes to tie the game at 65-65. Goshen would get down by as many as
four points — Spring Arbor held a 73-69 lead with 5:11 to play — before
a Goshen time out helped change the game’s tone.
“We played hard all night except for that lull in the second half,
when we didn’t seem to play with much energy or urgency,” Daugherty
said. “We talked about being positive and getting this thing done
during that timeout, and it kind of helped us get back to playing
with more intensity.”
Even without its starting point guard in junior Jordan Buller — who
fouled out at the 4:27 mark — the Leafs got big play from sophomore
David Haire. Haire scored a tough layup in traffic to give Goshen
a 75-73 lead at the 2:36 mark, then buried a huge three-pointer
off a Walsh dish
to make the score 78-75 with 1:32 to play. Spring Arbor was able
to convert three of four free throws over the next minute to
tie the score at 78-78,
and Goshen had one final look with 22 seconds remaining. Walsh
was able to get to the basket and get fouled with four seconds
remaining, and he
calmly drained both free throws. After a Spring Arbor turnover,
freshman Brice Hartman made one of two free throws to seal the
deal with just over
one second remaining on the clock.
In addition to Walsh’s explosion, Goshen was aided by sophomore
Willie Frazier’s 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Buller notched
10 points before fouling out. Haire finished with eight points on a perfect
three for three shooting performance, while senior Paul Kopanski knocked
in seven points to go with seven boards. Goshen’s 34 to 27 advantage
in total rebounds helped offset a torrid second-half shooting pace from
the Cougars, who knocked in 17 of 27 second-half attempts from the field
(63 percent).
“Spring Arbor has a very talented and well-coached team, and we
are very pleased to get this win,” Daugherty said. “We got
some good play from our bench, especially with David and Brice
making plays for us down the stretch.”
Walsh’s 36 total points was one better than his previous career
high, as Walsh charted 35 points in Goshen’s 98-91 win over NCAA
Div. II St. Joseph’s College on Dec. 18 of last season. Walsh is
now averaging 29.7 points per game in the Leafs’ last three contests.
Goshen will next host 10th-ranked Marian College on Saturday
at 3 p.m. It is still uncertain as to whether or not Crawford will be
available. MRI results will be available Wednesday. An update on his status
will appear on this website as it becomes known. |
 Junior
Eric Walsh
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