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DEC.
3 — Squad Does The Unthinkable; Walsh Sets Record
Goshen
wins at Marian after 27-point deficit; Walsh sets all-time
scoring mark |
Indianapolis, IN — For those individuals
with heart conditions or general anxiety, a word to the wise:
Don’t watch the Goshen College men’s basketball team play.
Just a week and a half after coming back from 20 points down
to grab a 79-76 win over the University of St. Francis (click here for
recap), the cardiac kids were at it again, this time storming back from
27 points down to steal a 72-68 Mid-Central Conference win at Marian College
on Saturday. The win pushed Goshen (9-2, 3-0) to the top of the league
by a half game, while senior Eric Walsh achieved a milestone within the
chaos. After scoring 12 points Saturday, Walsh became the program’s
all-time leading scorer, taking the crown from 1998 graduate Roger Prough.
Prough’s record of 1,900 career points is currently eclipsed by
a single point — Walsh’s total after Saturday is 1,901 — though
this year’s Goshen team has at least 19 more games to play this
season.
If many more of those contests play out like Saturday’s, however,
Goshen head coach Stan Daugherty will be in need of a long, long vacation.
“Obviously, I don’t like to get down like we have
and then try to battle back in a game, but our kids have shown
some toughness,” Daugherty
said. “We have not given up despite being in some pretty
bleak situations. I like those qualities in our team, and as
we continue to improve throughout the season those qualities
will be constants for us. Any road win in the conference is great,
but to do it in the fashion that we did on Saturday is kind of
unbelievable.”
Fans in attendance at Marian on Saturday would have been hard-pressed
to believe that Goshen had any chance at winning after witnessing
the first half of play, as the Leafs limped their way into the
locker room trailing by a 44-20 score. The host Knights completely
dominated the game in every category, shooting 70.4 percent from
the field (19 of 27) while holding the Leafs to a seven of 24
performance (29.2 percent). Marian’s five of six effort
from three-point land (83.3 percent) more than wiped out Goshen’s
one for 11 performance from behind the arc (9.1 percent), while
the hosts’ three offensive rebounds gave the team even
more chances. A three-pointer at the halftime buzzer by Marian’s
Travis Bunch put a fitting end to the contest’s first 20
minutes, leaving Daugherty and staff to search for answers.
“This game concerned me going in because of the length
of the trip and I felt like we were a little tired physically
and mentally
on practice Friday,” Daugherty said. “I thought we
might be sluggish, but I was hoping it wouldn’t be as bad
as it turned out to be. We were slow in all areas in the first
half, and Marian made us pay almost every time.”
That trend didn’t change in the second half’s first
three minutes, as traded baskets by the squads kept the margin
at 24 points. That was until the Knights’ Jared Reeves
canned a three-pointer at the 16:53 mark, giving Marian its largest
lead of the game — 27 points — in a 53-26 advantage.
That was when it happened.
Again.
In similar fashion to its incredible comeback against St. Francis,
Goshen began whittling away with improved defensive pressure
and made shots. Junior Matt Crawford — forced to play out
of position due to classmate Willie Frazier’s injury and
subsequent absence — ignited an unprecedented 20 to nothing
Leafs’ run that stunned the Marian crowd. Crawford accounted
for 10 of Goshen’s next 20 points, turning a 53-26 blowout
into a 53-46 intrigue.
Marian’s Will Smith finally stopped the bleeding with a
bucket at the 10:57 mark, and another basket by Reeves pushed
the Knights’ lead to 57-46 with 10:13 remaining. That’s
when the Leafs put together another incredible run, scoring 15
of the game’s next 17 points to grab its first lead at
61-59 with 5:31 to play. Marian answered with a thunderous dunk
on its next possession, setting up a thrilling finish to what
started as a rout.
After senior Jordan Buller made one of two free throws to help
his team to a 62-61 lead, Reeves responded with a long ball to
make it 64-62, Marian. Crawford answered that three-ball with
a trey of his own on Goshen’s next offensive trip, reclaiming
a 65-64 Leafs’ advantage.
Marian then responded with a four to nothing mini-run on its
next two possessions, taking a 68-65 lead with 2:42 remaining.
Neither
team would score for the next two minutes, until senior Tyler
Sheerer was fouled with just :51 on the clock. The usually-reliable
Sheerer missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity, but
Walsh came up with perhaps the biggest offensive rebound of the
season to date. Walsh’s kick out to Buller was advanced
to Sheerer, who had relocated to the left wing.
His three-point attempt found nothing but the net, tying the
game at 68 in the most important of moments.
Goshen forced a Knights’ miss on the ensuing possession, and junior
David Haire was fouled on the rebound. His two free throws made
it a 70-68 contest, and again the Leafs had to rely on their
defense.
Strong pressure on the perimeter forced Marian to throw the ball
away, and Buller was able to pick up the steal near mid-court.
His two free throws with four seconds on the clock iced the game,
completing the program’s largest comeback in an MCC contest
in school history.
“I thought that Matt Crawford was a big key to us getting
back into the game,” Daugherty said. “He got refocused
after we took him out in the second half and he got us going
on our 20 to nothing run. We also picked it up defensively all
over the court. Once we got some momentum, we began to play very
well. We moved the ball and shot it well, and we battled under
the boards better. In the last five minutes we once again made
some big plays to pull out the win.”
Buller finished with team-high scoring honors, charting 14 on
four of eight shooting from the field. Crawford added 13 — all
in the second half — while Haire scored 10 on a three of
six effort. Sheerer added eight points, while sophomores Brice
Hartman and Tyler Stotler added six and four, respectively.
Goshen heated up to shoot 17 of 29 in the second half (58.6 percent)
while quieting Marian to a nine for 25 second-period performance
(36 percent). Goshen’s second-half effectiveness at both
the three-point arc (eight for 14, 57.1 percent) and the free
throw line (10 of 12, 83.3 percent) were keys for the turnaround.
In addition to Walsh’s 12 points and subsequent program
record, the senior All-American led Goshen with six rebounds.
With the class that has defined his renowned coaching career,
Marian head coach John Grimes presented Walsh with the game ball
following the contest.
“Eric is very deserving of getting to this point because
of his work ethic,” Daugherty said. “We knew when
we recruited him that he was going to be a very good player for
us, but what we couldn’t have known was just how hard he
would work every year. He has dedicated his last three summers
to getting much stronger in the weight room and trying to add
new things to his game. On top of this, he is the most competitive
kid I have ever coached. When you put that kind of desire and
work together, it’s only fitting that Eric Walsh is our
program’s all-time leader.”
Walsh is primed to finish his career as the greatest player in
the school’s history, as his 790 career rebounds is second
on the all-time list, while his 660 career free throws made and
882 career free throws attempted are 433 and 440 more than the
program’s second-best efforts. Walsh has led the nation
in both categories in each of the past two seasons. His current
56.5 percent career shooting percentage (606 for 1072) is fourth-best
in Goshen’s career record books.
Goshen will begin first-semester final examinations this week
before returning to MCC action Thursday, when a dangerous Indiana
Wesleyan University team will visit the Roman Gingerich Center.
Game time is set for 7 p.m. |
Senior
Eric Walsh
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