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OCT.
28-29 — Hoopfest Streak Ends With I.U.S. Loss
Goshen
takes out Ohio State-Lima but falls to nation's 25th-ranked
team |
Goshen, IN — Coming into this weekend,
the Goshen College men’s basketball program had never lost a game
in the two-year history of the McDonald’s Maple City Hoopfest. The
team had won its four Hoopfest tilts by an average of 26.8 points per
game, including a 90-64 defeat of sixth-ranked Cardinal Stritch University
in the 2003 championship game.
But this weekend’s showcase was the first time the Leafs opened
a season with the tournament.
And, ultimately, it showed.
After defeating Ohio State University-Lima by a 91-61 score Friday
night, Goshen could not oust 25th-ranked Indiana University Southeast
in Saturday’s championship game, falling by a 73-84 score. After
a first half which saw the Leafs lead by as many as seven points on three
different occasions, a sloppily-played second half spelled doom for Goshen
in its first-ever Maple City Hoopfest runner-up finish.
“I knew that our game with I.U. Southeast would be a hard fought
game to the end,” said Stan Daugherty, Goshen head coach. “I
thought before the game that if we made good offensive decisions
and shot the ball well that we would be right there at the end. As it
turned out,
I don’t think that we made good decisions and we didn’t shoot
the ball as well as I had hoped. We had some good opportunities
in the second half, but we just didn’t convert well offensively.”
Goshen (1-1, 0-0) committed 11 second-half turnovers and could
only force the Grenadiers to miss seven second-period shots (16 for 23,
69.6 percent), making a close finish difficult to come by. Despite the
lopsided numbers, Goshen still had its chances down the stretch.
After I.U. Southeast claimed its largest lead (a 71-56 advantage
with just under eight minutes to play) Daugherty’s team attempted
a comeback. An eight to two run over the next two and a half minutes cut
the Grenadier lead to 64-73, and it appeared that Goshen was on the verge
of making things interesting.
Unfortunately, the Leafs could only make two of their final nine
shots from the floor, allowing I.U. Southeast breathing room until the
very end. For Daugherty, it was a case of seeing first-hand what his team
needs to improve on.
“There were three areas that we needed to be better in to win
the game,” Daugherty said. “First, our transition offense
when we had numbers. We had four or five opportunities in the
second half that we failed to score. Secondly, in our half-court offense
we didn't
execute our sets as well as we should. We turned the ball over
or didn't hit the right player at the right time. Thirdly, when we did
get the ball
to the right spot, we missed the shot or got fouled and didn't
hit the free throws. Defensively, we played well at times, but overall
didn't
contest shots very well. You cannot let a team shoot 63 percent
for the game (I.U. Southeast was 33 for 52 overall) and expect to win.
They did
a nice job of running offense and they hit some big shots in
the second half. I thought their offensive execution in the second half
was the difference
in the game.”
Senior Eric Walsh led Goshen’s efforts with 25 points on eight of
12 shooting, while junior Willie Frazier and sophomore Brice Hartman each
carded 16 points. Frazier grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and Hartman
added five. Senior Jordan Buller scored just four points, but did dish
out a tournament-high 11 assists.
Friday’s game against Ohio State-Lima was a stark contrast to Saturday’s
match-up, as Goshen was on cruise control from the opening tip against
the out-manned Barons. The Leafs slowly built a 23-point lead behind solid
execution and stout defense, taking a 51-30 lead at the intermission and
never looking back. Goshen shot over 58 percent from the field for the
game (39 of 68) while limiting Ohio State-Lima to just a 22 for 67 performance
(32.8 percent).
“I was pleased with our effort against O.S.U.-Lima,” Daugherty
said. “I
thought in the second half we moved the ball better and got better
ball reversal on offense. That led to some easy baskets and several good
assists.
Our defense got better as the game went along. We played harder
and contested shots better. It was good to get everybody some minutes
and I thought
our young players played well for their first college game. It
was a good start for the year.”
Walsh again led Goshen’s offensive front, posting 18 points on seven
of eight shooting. Hartmman added 13 points and six rebounds, while sophomore
Tyler Stotler scored 10 points on five of eight shooting. Junior Matt
Crawford and freshman Josh Martin each tallied eight.
As a result of their play, both Walsh and Hartman were named
to the all-tournament team. Indiana University Southeast advanced to the
championship game after defeating Calumet College by a 76-64 score in
Friday night’s other contest. Calumet then defeated Ohio State-Lima
104-69 in the consolation game.
Goshen will return to the Roman Gingerich Center Thursday night,
when the team looks to get back to the winning side against Andrews University.
Game time is set for 7 p.m., following a women’s match-up with Andrews
at 5 p.m. |
Junior
Willie Frazier
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