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JAN.
7 — Bout With 3rd-Ranked Foresters Lives Up To Hype
Goshen
mounts tremendous second-half comeback but falls 95-98 |
Goshen, IN — When Stan Daugherty took
over the Goshen College men’s basketball program at the start of
the 2001-2002 season, his long term goals included bringing the program
to a competitive level in the ultra-tough Mid-Central Conference.
Judging by Saturday’s action on the court and atmosphere in the
Roman Gingerich Center, the Leafs may very well have reached that mark.
Facing off against the nation’s third-ranked team in Huntington
University, Goshen used a remarkable second-half rally that fell just
short, falling to the Foresters by a 95-98 score in front of a near sell-out
crowd Saturday afternoon. After trailing by 19 points at halftime, Daugherty’s
team scored 61 points in the second period, all but stunning those in
attendance and setting up a finish worthy of ESPN highlights.
“This was a game where we played very well at times, particularly
in the second half,” Daugherty said. “We talked in the days
leading up to the game that this is why you play, this is why
you work hard in the off-season, for games like these. Huntington is an
outstanding
team that requires your very best effort (to beat them). Today,
I thought we had some stretches where we didn’t play well and Huntington
made us pay.”
Those stretches occurred primarily in the latter portion of the
first half for Goshen (11-7, 4-2) as Huntington turned a 37-32 lead with
5:32 remaining into a 53-34 advantage as the halftime buzzer sounded.
The Leafs did not score a field goal during that stretch, as a pair of
free throws by senior Eric Walsh were the only Goshen points during a
16 to two Foresters’ run to end the period.
Some solid shooting from both teams cued the game’s start, as the
squads combined to hit 10 of the first 18 field goals attempted,
leading to a 17-15 Huntington lead just five minutes into the
action. Goshen remained
close up to the five and a half minute mark, keeping the game
within five points for the majority of play. It was following
a layup by Walsh at
the 5:32 point that things turned dramatically south for the
Leafs, as Goshen came up empty on 11 of its next 12 possessions, missing
its final seven shots
from the field and committing four turnovers during that span.
Conversely, Huntington began to heat up, knocking in seven of
its next eight field
goal attempts en route to the 53-34 advantage at the intermission.
“That was the major difference in the game, that last five or
six minutes of the first half,” Daugherty said. “We were only
down five, but when it got to eight or 10 we couldn’t make a play
on either end to stop their run and they went up by 19 at half.
A lot of that stretch was some poor offensive decisions on our
part which led
to bad shots or turnovers. Defensively, we didn’t always close out
on their three-point shooters and they had some open looks. They
are an outstanding offensive team and they hit some shots that
we defended well.
I think our challenge defensively is to contest every shot better
and understand there are times where we’ll be scored on no matter
how great we are defensively. As a coaching staff, that is what
we are striving
for on every defensive possession: Forcing our opponents to shoot
a highly contested shot.”
After allowing Huntington to convert 22 of 36 first-half attempts
from the field (61.1 percent) that included seven of 10 from
three-point range (70 percent), Goshen needed to shore up defensively
in the second
half, and things improved: While the Foresters still made over
50 percent of its tries (15 of 28 in the second half, 53.6 percent) the
Leafs held
the visitors to just a two for six effort from three (33.3 percent)
and heated up on their own end of the court.
Following a layup by sophomore
Brice Hartman and a pair of threes from senior Tyler Sheerer
and Hartman, Goshen trailed by 11 points just two minutes into the second
half. From
there, it was a game of catch up, with Huntington’s lead evaporating
ever so slowly as the game progressed.
Following an eight-minute stretch that saw Huntington’s lead slip
to no fewer than 11 points, an offensive rebound and putback
by junior David Haire made it a 76-66 game with 9:10 remaining. That basket
set off another
six-minute stretch where the Forester lead dwindled to nine on
two occasions, but grew to as many as 15 (an 83-68 lead with
6:04 remaining).
It wasn’t until the final three minutes of play that Daugherty’s
team staged yet another made-for-Hollywood comeback, keyed by an impressive
performance from the three-point arc. A trey from Sheerer at the 2:45
mark made it an 87-80 Huntington lead, while a three from Haire just one
minute later cut the lead to 91-85. Following three made free throws by
Huntington, a Walsh drive and foul made the score 94-90 with just 21 seconds
to play. After another pair of made free throws by the Foresters, it was
Sheerer again, draining a fade away three that cut the lead to 96-93 with
just over 15 seconds left on the clock.
As with any classic end to a slugfest between two talented teams,
Saturday’s conclusion was not without a bit of controversy: Goshen’s
best chance at a potential game-tying possession came
immediately following Sheerer’s three, as senior guard Jordan Buller
teamed with Walsh to trap a Huntington player in the deep corner
following the inbounds pass.
For the Goshen faithful, it appeared the Forester player extended
his arm in an attempt to clear space. As Buller went down hard,
the Roman Gingerich Center grew to a fever pitch. No offensive
foul was called,
however, and Daugherty’s team was forced to foul after the pass
out. Huntington — which did the Leafs no favors by knocking in its
final seven free throws on the afternoon — made the two charity
tosses to rebuild a 98-93 lead. An uncontested layup by Buller
as the game concluded was a moot point, and Huntington had escaped
with the win.
For the game, both teams converted on over half of shots from
the floor (Huntington was 37 of 64, 57.8 percent and Goshen 34 of 65,
52.3 percent) with Daugherty’s team knocking in 13 of 31 three pointers
(41.9 percent) including a nine of 20 second-half effort from deep (45
percent). Both teams had near equal scoring at the foul line (Huntington
15 for 19, 78.9 percent and Goshen 14 for 15, 93.3 percent) while the
Foresters controlled the glass by a 30 to 23 count.
Goshen placed six players in double-figure scoring for only the
second time this season, led by Walsh’s 25 points on seven of 13
shooting. Buller added 17 in a gutsy performance, followed by
Sheerer and junior Matt Crawford’s 12 apiece. Hartman finished with
11 points on a five for shooting effort, while Haire scored 10
points. Junior forward Willie Frazier made his first appearance
in uniform since Nov. 19, when torn cartilage in his left knee
warranted arthroscopic surgery in early December. In just 16
minutes of play, Frazier scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds.
Goshen’s 61 second-half points were the most scored in a
single half by a Daugherty-coached team in Mid-Central Conference
play, while the loss signaled a near-miss for what could have
been a first in
program history: Goshen has never defeated a team ranked in the
nation’s
top five at the Roman Gingerich Center, with the closest feat
remaining in a 90-64 win over then sixth-ranked Cardinal Stritch
University on Nov. 15,
2003.
“We were decent offensively for most of the game and outstanding
the last five or six minutes,” Daugherty said. “I liked our
balance on offense. The bottom line is we cannot get down 19
to a great team like Huntington. I was proud of the way our guys never
gave up, but
we need to be more consistent for the whole ball game.”
Things get no easier for Goshen, as eighth-ranked and current
MCC leader Taylor University visits the Roman Gingerich Center Tuesday
night. That game is slated to begin at 7 p.m. |
  Senior
Tyler Sheerer
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