| (Box Score) Indianapolis, IN — It is often spoken that if a basketball team lives by the three, it can also perish by the three.
Tuesday night at Mid-Central Conference foe Marian College, the three-point arc was Goshen’s life support.
Goshen (9-12, 2-6) drained six of its total eight three-point baskets in the final five minutes of regulation and in overtime, turning a 51-40 deficit with 4:50 remaining in regulation into a 71-66 OT win at Marian’s Physical Education Center. After making just two of 12 shots from deep in Tuesday evening’s first 35 minutes of basketball, the Leafs got hot at the right time, making their final six long balls in a needed MCC road victory.
“People may talk about us making so many threes so late in the game, but what I was very pleased with was our perseverance late in the game,” said Stan Daugherty, Goshen head coach. “When we got down by 11 points with just under five minutes to go, we didn’t panic and shoot bad shots. We played better on the defensive end and got some stops, and then we moved the ball well on offense and hit some big shots. Overall we played sporadically, but we were very focused in the last five minutes and the overtime.”
Goshen’s sporadic play was highlighted early in the first half, as Marian raced off to a 9-2 lead after Daugherty’s squad made just one of its first six shots from the field. The Knights' lead was 22-10 with 7:33 remaining in the period, but a slow Goshen push gradually closed the gap. A three pointer by senior David Haire and a pair of free throws from freshman Errick McCollum made the score 22-17 with 6:06 on the clock, while a pair of late buckets from McCollum tightened the gap to a 26-23 Marian lead at the intermission.
A basket by senior Willie Frazier opened second-half play and cut the difference to just one point, a margin that would occur three times over the half’s first six minutes. Another interior basket from Frazier made the score 42-40, Marian, with 9:23 to play, but the Knights would then put together their most impressive run of the night: The hosts scored nine unanswered points over the contest’s next four minutes, claiming a 51-40 lead with 5:24 remaining.
It was at that point that the Leafs began to retreat behind the three-point arc.
A made trey from junior Brice Hartman started the comeback effort, which was followed by a defensive stop and another bucket from Hartman — this one of the two-point variety — that pulled Goshen to within six.
Goshen used tough defense on Marian’s ensuing possession, and McCollum was then fouled on the Leafs’ next trip. After making one of two, Daugherty’s team was able to force a Knights’ turnover, and Haire drilled another three-ball to make it a 51-49 Marian lead with 2:47 to play.
Marian made two free throws on its next trip down the floor and McCollum responded by making one of two, pulling Goshen to within 53-50 with 2:01 remaining. The Knights’ Jared Reeves drilled a tough shot on Marian’s next possession, however, and again Goshen stared at a five-point deficit with 1:32 on the game clock.
Senior Matt Crawford dished a beautiful pass to Hartman on Goshen’s next possession, and Hartman buried a three from the top of the circle. McCollum was whistled for his fourth foul of the game on Marian’s next trip with the ball, and the Knights’ Derek James calmly sank two free throws.
Marian 57, Goshen 53 with 50 seconds remaining.
McCollum scored a driving basket with :30 to play, and Goshen forced a Marian error just four seconds later. Taking the inbounds pass from the sideline, the Leafs worked the ball inside to Frazier, who kicked the ball out to Hartman on the baseline.
His three hit nothing but net, making the score 57-56, Marian, with 22 seconds to play in regulation.
With Goshen forced to foul, Marian’s Brandon Buscher — who had an incredible game scoring 27 points and grabbing 10 boards — could only make the first of two charity attempts. With seven seconds remaining and the Leafs now trailing 58-56, McCollum secured the rebound, dribbled three times and found Frazier streaking down the floor.
Frazier cradled the long pass from McCollum and scored a left-handed layup moments before the horn sounded.
Naturally, Goshen opened the overtime period with another made three pointer — this one from Crawford — taking its first lead of the night and never looking back. Haire added a three on the Leafs’ next trip, giving Goshen a 64-58 lead. Marian would cut the lead to one point (67-66), but a driving basket from McCollum regained a three-point edge for Daugherty’s squad with 36 seconds to play. After another defensive stop, freshman Lance Carroll calmly sunk a pair of free throws to ice the game.
Goshen made eight of 18 attempts from deep (44.4 percent) but made six of nine in the game’s final 25 minutes (66.7 percent) including making its last six tries from beyond the arc. Marian found the going more difficult from three-point range, making just four of 16 on the night (25 percent).
McCollum paced Goshen’s scoring efforts, going seven of 11 from the floor for a team-high 21 points. He also grabbed a squad-best nine rebounds. Hartman finished with 17 points after making three of four three pointers in the second half, while Frazier scored 12 points. Haire added nine points and Crawford scored eight. Both Frazier and Hartman secured five rebounds apiece.
“I think we have made some big improvements in our focus in our last two games and it showed in the end of the Marian game,” Daugherty said. “We made some good adjustments in the second half on the offensive end and our guys shared the ball better to get good shots. We handled the physical play of the game well and kept our intensity up throughout the second half. It was obviously a good win on the road in the MCC, but it was especially nice to come from behind in such a positive way. Our goal is to build on our good play on the road at Huntington and our win at Marian as we go into the second round of conference play. I think our young players are starting to understand the toughness needed to compete in this league. Our four upperclassmen are showing good leadership and I think we can continue to make some big improvements in the next several weeks.”
Goshen begins the second half of MCC play with a doozey this Saturday, as 10th-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University will visit the Roman Gingerich Center. Game time is set for 3 p.m.
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Senior David Haire