| (Box Score) Huntington, IN — Just moments after taking the nation’s fifth-ranked team to a three-point contest and nearly giving host Huntington University its first home loss in 27 games, Goshen College head men’s basketball coach Stan Daugherty was not talking about moral victories.
Goshen (8-12, 1-6) suffered a heartbreaking 74-77 loss at Huntington Saturday, leading by as many as six points in the first half and five in the second half before the Foresters slowly gathered momentum late, taking a 67-65 lead with just under four minutes to play and never relinquishing the advantage.
The contest featured a total 16 lead changes and five ties, while Daugherty’s team kept the score knotted for a total two minutes and 36 seconds, and maintained a lead for 18:50 out of the total 40 minutes played.
The only one that truly mattered was with zeroes on the game clock.
“We didn’t come here to get close,” Daugherty said following the loss. “It was a good game in that we reminded ourselves that we can compete with anyone on any given night, but we obviously would have liked to finish (with a win). I’m proud of how we competed, and I thought it was the most prepared we have been for a game since Christmas. It was a good effort both physically and mentally, and we didn’t play scared. That’s important when you’re playing a great team on the road.”
A packed Merillat Complex set the stage for what would be a tremendous small-college basketball game, as Huntington — the nation's top-ranked team in two of the last four weeks — scored five of the game’s first seven points for a quick 5-2 lead. A basket from the Foresters nearly three minutes into the action made the score 7-2, but Goshen responded with a 10 to four run over the game’s next three and a half minutes to capture a 12-11 lead.
A traditional three-point play from senior Matt Crawford made the score 23-17, Goshen, with 8:59 remaining in the first period, and that difference would be the biggest separation between the teams on the afternoon: The Leafs and Foresters would exchange a pair of five-point advantages in the second half. For the most part, the game was much closer than that.
Goshen claimed a narrow, 37-34 lead at halftime.
“We shared the ball well the entire afternoon, and that helped our offense have more of a purpose,” Daugherty said. “I thought we defended well the entire game, but Huntington made a lot of contested shots. I thought Huntington played really well. It wasn’t like they played poorly. It was just a great small-college game to be a part of.”
A jumper by freshman Errick McCollum spurted Goshen out to a 39-34 lead moments into the second period, but Huntington responded with a three-ball on its next trip to pull within 39-37. A pair of free throws from senior Willie Frazier gave the Leafs a 41-37 lead, only to be followed by a traditional three-point play from the Foresters’ Jared Yoder on Huntington’s next trip.
An absolute see-saw battle transpired over the game’s next eight and a half minutes, with the teams trading leads 13 times.
It would come down to who had the ball last.
“This was a classic college basketball game in that, for the most part, I thought we had Huntington very well defended on a lot of occasions, only for them to make tough shots,” said Cory Furman, Goshen assistant coach. “Conversely, we had guys step up and make some necessary baskets as well. If I wasn’t sitting on our bench, I would have enjoyed watching the game from the stands.”
A pull-up jumper from McCollum gave Goshen a 59-58 lead with 8:03 remaining on the clock, but Huntington again responded with a made jump shot to reclaim a 60-59 lead. As Goshen remained close — the Foresters would lead by as many as four points over the next three minutes — it could not get on top. A big three-point play from Frazier tied the score 65-65 with 4:31 remaining, but again the Foresters had an answer on its next possession, grabbing a 67-65 lead.
More traded baskets kept the game within two possessions, and with 2:10 remaining the Foresters claimed a 73-68 lead. An offensive rebound and putback from senior Matt Crawford cut the lead to 73-70, and following a defensive stop McCollum buried a jumper to make it a 73-72 Huntington lead.
Unfortunately for Goshen, Huntington was able to sink its final four free throw attempts to preserve the win. The Leafs traded baskets between free throws, cutting the Forester lead to one point each time. HU’s Kyle Ganton and Alex Koch each made a pair of free throws, the latter of which came with seven seconds remaining.
Trailing 74-77, McCollum raced down the floor and flipped the ball to senior David Haire, who circled the arc looking to get off a potential game-tying three-point attempt. His shot came slightly after the buzzer, however, making the result — it just missed long — a moot point.
McCollum led all scorers in the contest, charting 20 points on a seven for nine effort from the field. Junior Brice Hartman scored 19 points and grabbed four boards, while Crawford and Haire each added 11. Frazier scored nine points and secured six rebounds. McCollum also grabbed six boards and dished out a team-best four assists.
“Hopefully we can find some positives from this game and carry them over for the remainder of the season,” Daugherty said. “We’ve still got a game left before the second round of conference play begins. We’ll get back to work immediately.”
Goshen will make the lengthy trip to Indianapolis on Tuesday to face Marian College. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
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Junior Brice Hartman