|
|
JAN.
31 — Wesleyan Handles Leafs' Effort,
75-66
Goshen
again struggles scoring from the field; drops fifth straight
MCC contest |
Marion, IN — With Indiana Pacers mascot “Boomer” igniting
a near-sell out crowd at Indiana Wesleyan University’s Luckey
Arena Tuesday night, it was the Goshen College men’s basketball
team that felt the full chide of the creature’s antics, dropping
a 66-75 Mid-Central Conference decision.
Goshen (13-12, 5-7) shot just 35 percent from the field in the
game (21 of 60) and fell to sole possession of seventh place in the league
with the loss, the team’s fifth straight defeat and fourth shooting
under 37 percent for the game.
“Right now we are in a position where we don’t have a good
offensive rhythm,” said Stan Daugherty, Goshen head coach. “A
lot of that is trying to adjust without (senior) Tyler (Sheerer, click
here for
related article) and all that he brings to our offense. We will
try to keep looking at combinations and offensive ideas that will give
us the
best shots. It is just like a slump in any sport — you’ve
got to play your way out of it and keep positive.”
Early on Tuesday it was both teams that could not get untracked
scoring the basketball, as the squads combined to miss the first six shots
of the game while producing three combined turnovers. Leafs’ junior
Matt Crawford finally ended the drought at the 17:10 mark with a three
pointer, as Goshen went on to hold as much as a five-point lead over the
game’s next 10 minutes.
After a made layup by senior Eric Walsh made it a 20-16 Goshen
lead with 7:52 remaining in the first half, things went stale for the
visitors. Indiana Wesleyan reeled off a nine to nothing run over the game’s
next two minutes, grabbing a 25-20 lead with 5:38 remaining in the first
half.
A thunderous dunk in transition from sophomore Brice Hartman
silenced the Luckey Arena crowd and cut the Wildcats’ lead to just
three points, while senior Jordan Buller’s three made free throws
on Goshen’s next possession tied the game at 25-25 with 3:49 remaining
in the period.
Again the Leafs’ offense went cold, however, allowing Indiana Wesleyan
to finish the first half with a flurry. Goshen scored just four points
in the half’s final three and a half minutes — the team missed
four of its last five field goal attempts and committed a turnover — while
IWU scored three of its last four shots en route to an 11 to four run
to end the half. A buzzer-beating tap from Hartman cut Wesleyan’s
halftime lead to just 36-29, but the momentum had shifted.
“I was pleased with how we started the game defensively,” Daugherty
said. “We fought hard and we had some good defensive efforts, particularly
in the post and off the ball in help side. We were a little slow
starting offensively, but as the game wore on I thought we got better.
We still
didn’t shoot the ball well in the first half (nine of 28 overall,
32.1 percent) and that made each defensive possession even tougher.
Other than the last four minutes of the half, I was pleased with how we
played.
Their run to end the half hurt us as we had played hard enough
that we should have been even at halftime.”
Unfortunately for Daugherty and crew, that Wesleyan run continued
at the outset of the second half, where three wide-open missed shots for
Goshen turned into instant offense for the Wildcats. After just four minutes
had elapsed in the second period, Wesleyan had run off 10 points before
the Leafs had cracked the scoring column. A media timeout at the 15:54
mark was the closest thing to a gauze pad for Daugherty’s team,
as Wesleyan’s 46-29 lead would balloon to as many as 18 points over
the game’s next five minutes.
“We started with two wide open shots that we missed and then a
couple of turnovers put us in a bigger hole,” Daugherty said. “I
thought the last 12 minutes of the game we fought back hard,
but when we don’t shoot the ball well it is hard to generate a big
run to take the lead.”
Goshen was able to close the gap to 10 points on four different
occasions throughout the second half, but could not get closer until the
very end. After a three-ball from Buller and a layup plus a foul from
Walsh turned a 58-72 deficit into a 64-72 margin with 1:02 remaining,
it appeared as if the Leafs had a bit more magic left in the tank. Daugherty’s
team was able to come up with a steal just three seconds following Walsh’s
made free throw, but Buller’s next three-pointer just rimmed out.
After Goshen won the battle for the rebound, junior David Haire
was fouled attacking the basket. His two free throws made it 72-66 with
:55 to play, and Daugherty’s team would be forced to foul.
Wesleyan made just one of its next two free throw attempts, and
Walsh attempted a three that would have made it a four-point game with
:38 remaining. His shot missed, however, and the Wildcats were efficient
at the line from that point forward: Wesleyan knocked in its next two
charity tosses, and Goshen could not get a shot off on its next possession
ending the game in the 75-66 final.
Shooting statistics were the determining factor again, as Wesleyan
converted 26 of 52 for the game (50 percent) including a 12 for
22 effort in the second half (54.5 percent). In addition to shooting just
35 percent
for the game, Goshen was ineffective from the three-point arc,
making just four of 21 (19 percent).
Wesleyan outrebounded Goshen by a 37 to
33 count, but committed four more ball handling errors than the
Leafs (19 to 15). Goshen’s 12 offensive rebounds were four better than
Wesleyan’s eight, while the Wildcats were credited for 13 fastbreak
points to just two for Goshen.
Walsh again led the charge in another truly gutsy performance,
scoring 27 points on nine of 18 shooting while grabbing a team-high seven
rebounds. Buller finished with 13 points and four assists, while junior
Matt Crawford added nine points and five rebounds. Classmate Willie Frazier
scored just four but also grabbed seven boards. Hartman finished with
six points on a two for four shooting effort.
The loss marked the first time in Daugherty’s five-year tenure that
Indiana Wesleyan swept the season series from Goshen. The Wildcats
defeated the Leafs by a 84-72 score on Dec. 8 in the Roman Gingerich
Center (click here for game recap).
“Nobody here is pleased with our end results lately, but we did
play hard until the end of the game tonight and that is important,” Daugherty
said. “When you are in a tough stretch and you are losing close
games, it is important to play each possession with good intensity.
I think we’re putting some pressure on ourselves to hit every shot
now, and we’ve missed some wide open looks during the last several
games that I think we normally would hit. If we continue to play
hard and improve each day, then we will be in a position to win
games at the
end.”
Goshen will next return to the Roman Gingerich Center on Saturday,
when the team will host its cross-town rival Bethel College. Game time
is set for 3 p.m. |
  Senior
Eric Walsh
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
