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NOV.
12 — Davenport No Match For Goshen In 74-59 Finish
Leafs
use balanced effort without leading scorer in cruising
to home win |
Goshen, IN — With 2004-2005 NAIA Third
Team All-American Eric Walsh restricted to the sidelines in street clothes,
Goshen head coach Stan Daugherty urged his team for a selfless performance
against visiting Davenport University Saturday afternoon at the Roman
Gingeich Center.
Forty minutes, nineteen assists and four double-figure scorers
later, he got it.
Despite missing Walsh for just the second game in his illustrious
career — a high ankle sprain and nagging hamstring injury kept him
out of the lineup — Goshen (4-1, 0-0) cruised to a 74-59 win over
the Panthers, holding the visitors to just 12 of 55 shooting (38.2 percent)
in its best defensive effort of the season thus far. The Leafs never trailed
following a three-pointer from junior Matt Crawford at the 18:28 mark
in the first half, building as much as a 26-point lead while coasting
to the win.
“I thought I saw a little improvement in this game in our overall
defense in contesting some shots,” Daugherty said. “We held
them to 38 percent shooting from the field, and that is the best
of the year for us. We still need to be consistent in using our hands
to pressure
the ball on defense, especially in dead ball situations, but
it was an improvement.”
Daugherty’s team opened as wide as a 10-point lead in the first
half before Davenport cut it to a 33-25 gap with just 14 seconds remaining
in the period. Following a Panther foul at the two-second mark, senior
Tyler Sheerer buried a 40-foot three-pointer at the buzzer to give the
Leafs a 36-25 lead at the halftime break.
Goshen needed just the initial three minutes of the second half
to push its lead to 18 points, and the rout was on. A thunderous alley-oop
dunk by junior Willie Frazier ingnited the Roman Gingerich Center crowd,
spurning a 20 to five Goshen run that made it a 56-30 contest with 12:49
remaining. Daugherty’s team would again push its lead to 26 points
two minutes later (62-36), but Davenport would cut into the lead late
as the Leafs’ substitutions became more frequent.
While convincing, the game could have been much more lopsided
had Goshen been slightly more efficient on offense: A 24 for
61 effort from the field (39.3 percent)
was effective, but that stat was bolstered by a 13 for 31 performance
from behind the arc (41.9 percent). The Leafs were only able
to collect eight of their own missed shots on the afternoon,
a stat that Daugherty
said he’d like to see upgraded.
“I was a little disappointed in our rebounding,” Daugherty
said. “There
were times when we had great angles to go to the offensive boards
and we didn't pursue the ball. As quick as I think we can be with our
swings,
we need to go to the offensive boards better. I did like how
we shared the ball on offense. I thought all of our guys were unselfish
and we got
some great looks, especially from three. It was good to see us
shoot the ball better from behind the arc than we have most of the year.
Overall,
it was a good win and a chance for our young guys to get more
game experience.”
Balance was again the key to Goshen’s scoring successes, as junior
David Haire led the way with 16 points on six of eight shooting from the
field. Sheerer added 12 on four of six shooting, while senior Jordan Buller
and sophomore Brice Hartman had 11 apiece. Buller was just one rebound
away from a triple-double, as the guard dished out 11 of the team’s
19 assists. His nine rebounds was a career-high.
Daugherty’s team finished the game at less than full strength, as
rare injuries continue to be a factor for the squad. In addition
to Walsh’s
hamstring and ankle issues — he is still listed as day-to-day by
Goshen College training personnel — Haire suffered a bruised abdominal
wall late in the second half against Davenport. He did not return
following the injury. Hartman, meanwhile, played 26 minutes of
the game while suffering from turf
toe. He is expected to play in the Leafs’ next game, while Haire
is questionable.
The win marked Goshen’s first without Walsh in uniform since his
arrival in the 2002-2003 season. Walsh sat out the 2003-2004
season contest at then eighth-ranked Taylor University on Jan.
13. Goshen lost by a 39-70 score.
Daugherty can only hope that his squad will recuperate quickly
enough to return to near-full strength by Tuesday, as the Goshen
will face its toughest opponent of the pre-conference season
that evening. Just 10 days after falling to the University of
Michigan by a
77-69 score,
NCAA Division II Grand Valley State University will open its
home slate with the Leafs Tuesday night. Game time is set for
8 p.m. |
Junior
David Haire
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