A pair of quality wins made it seem like a true vacation.

Goshen (7-8, 1-2) handed both Webber International University and Warner Southern College its first home losses of the season, knocking off Webber International 66-64 on Saturday and Warner Southern by a 70-64 score Sunday afternoon. The wins pushed the Leafs to a 4-0 mark in the program’s last two trips to the Sunshine State, while Goshen has now won four of its last six contests heading into the Christmas holiday break.

“This trip to Florida was an outstanding five days for our team,” said Stan Daugherty, Goshen head coach. “We played some good basketball and we had some excellent times off of the court. I hope that the momentum that we have had the last four games can carry over after the break.”

Goshen arrived to Orlando Thursday evening and prepped for the Florida Sun Conference opponents with a Friday afternoon practice at a local high school. After witnessing Webber International beat Johnson & Wales University by a 70-69 score Friday night, the Leafs’ plans and strategies for the weekend were set.

According to assistant coach Cory Furman, they nearly backfired.

“We felt we had a really good scouting report on Webber, both after seeing them on tape and in person,” Furman said. “They came out and played much differently and much better against us, however, and we were in for a dogfight.”

Making the short trip to Babson Park, Goshen fell behind early to the Warriors. A 10-3 Webber International blast to open the game was finally subdued by a mini-Leafs’ run, as Daugherty’s team captured a 22-20 lead with just 7:50 remaining in the period. Webber International took a 33-30 lead into halftime but did its most significant work in the meat of the second period, claiming a 57-49 advantage with 6:57 to play in the contest.

Perhaps drawing on past experiences, Daugherty’s team gelled.

A pair of free throws and a basket from junior Brice Hartman cut the Warriors’ lead to 57-52 with 5:40 to play, and a three pointer from Hartman on Goshen’s next trip made the score 57-55 with 5:04 on the clock. After senior Willie Frazier knocked down a pair of free throws, Goshen had tied the game at 57-57 with 2:56 remaining.

A three pointer on Webber International’s next possession reclaimed a three-point Warriors’ lead, but two Hartman free throws and a big three-point bucket from senior Matt Crawford gave Goshen a 62-60 lead with 1:23 to play.

Following a needed defensive stop on Webber’s next trip, Goshen calmly made free throws to ice the game: The Leafs made four straight charity tosses to keep the margin at no less than two possessions, edging out the 66-64 win.

Hartman and freshman Errick McCollum led Goshen’s offensive pace scoring 13 points apiece. Frazier scored 12 and grabbed a team-leading six rebounds. Crawford finished with eight points on a three for six shooting performance while sophomore Sam Boldman added six points on a two for two effort from beyond the arc.

“Even though we played sluggish for most of the game, I was pleased with our focus and effort the last seven minutes when the game was on the line,” Daugherty said. “We played well defensively down the stretch and we executed well on the offensive end. It was a good win because we didn't play very well yet maintained enough focus to change our effort in the final seven minutes. We played through some difficult stages of the game and we persevered until we could play some better basketball to finish the game.”

Anxious for a chance at redemption, Daugherty’s team did not have to wait long. A trip to Lake Wales on Sunday afternoon provided Goshen a chance to play a stronger, more physical team in Warner Southern, and again, Goshen struggled early. The host Royals jumped out to a 12-3 lead just four and a half minutes into the contest, and again the Leafs were forced into a catch-up mode. Warner captured a 21-10 lead with 11:57 to play in the period and hung onto a 34-26 lead with 2:20 remaining before a pair of baskets from McCollum and two free throws from Frazier helped close the gap to 34-32 with 11 seconds to play. A tip-in basket from the Royals’ Chris Brach at the buzzer made it a 36-32 Warner Southern lead at the half, and Daugherty’s team was staying close.

“I thought we came out much more focused against Warner Southern than we did against Webber International,” Daugherty said. “Even though we were more focused, we still were not ready for the physical nature of the game. I was pleased that when we got down early, we started to pick up our intensity and cut into the lead. By halftime, we had started to meet their physical play with some physical play of our own.”

Warner Southern recaptured a nine-point advantage just three and a half minutes into the second half of play, however, and Daugherty called a timeout.

Apparently the halftime discussion lacked something that the timeout did not.

Goshen responded with an 11 to nothing run following the stoppage, claimed a 47-45 lead and never allowed Warner Southern to lead again.

“He doesn’t do it very often, but Coach got on the guys a bit during that timeout,” Furman said. “It’s funny, but even though we’re a fairly young team we seem to respond to those types of stern lectures from Coach.”

Freshman Nate West scored four points during that run and Hartman added a three-ball, and the Leafs were off and running. A 50-49 Goshen advantage ballooned to a 60-52 lead behind two more three pointers from Hartman and another from freshman Lance Carroll. Warner Southern would cut the lead to a single point with 2:11 to play, but back-to-back big plays from McCollum sealed the deal for the Leafs. A driving layup from McCollum with 2:01 remaining made it a 65-62 Goshen lead, while McCollum drew a charge on the Royals’ next possession. Daugherty’s team nailed five of its last six free throw attempts to keep Warner at bay, handing the Royals their first loss of the year at their own Turner Athletic Center.

“The second half was without a doubt the best half of the weekend,” Daugherty said. “We played well on both ends and held them off in the final five minutes of the game. I liked our energy all day and the enthusiasm with which we played. Our bench gave us a big lift and it was truly a team victory.”

Hartman led all scorers in the contest, charting 23 points. McCollum scored 16 and dished out three assists, while West added 13 points and five rebounds. Carroll scored six points on a two for three effort from downtown.

“Overall, I am pretty pleased with our team at this point of the season,” Daugherty said. “We have made big improvements in a lot of areas of our play and we continue to improve in all facets of our game. I hope that we can come back from break and continue our momentum into the meat of our conference schedule. It will be a tough stretch, but we keep competing every game and improving our execution during the end of close games. Hopefully we will improve week to week the rest of the season.”

Following a trip to Sea World and a heated miniature golf / alligator feeding showdown on Monday, Goshen returned to the Maple City Tuesday evening. The team will remain idle through the  Christmas holiday before returning to play on Friday, Dec. 29, when the team will travel to Indiana University-Northwest. Game time is set for 7 p.m.