With eight of its next nine games yet to be played on the road, head coach Stan Daugherty is hopeful that these experiences — while bitter — can help his team down the line.

“We didn’t play very consistent basketball in this game, and to win on the road at the college level you need to do that,” Daugherty said. “We had stretches where we played decent basketball, but we seemed to always revert back to a sluggish effort both mentally and physically.”

It was Daugherty’s team that opened the game with an impressive display, however, taking a 25-10 lead 12 minutes into play. That advantage was sparked by a 15 to one Leafs’ run over an eight-minute stretch, as Bluffton was forced to call a timeout to stop the bleeding.

With the game seemingly in hand, Goshen (3-5, 0-1) slowly began to let the host Beavers back in the game as the first half dwindled. A 33-22 lead with just over five minutes remaining in the half was erased thanks to a 16 to six Bluffton run in the period’s final moments. Goshen went into the locker room at halftime with just a 39-38 lead.

“I was pleased with the guys who made the first rotation off of the bench,” Daugherty said. “They seemed to give us a lift both in the first half and the second half. Despite not playing as intense as we did earlier in the week, we were still in a position to win the game.”

Goshen needed a comeback effort to make that a possibility, as Bluffton captured its largest lead of the game — eight points — at both the 15:09 mark and 12:49 mark of the second period. It was after the latter point that the Leafs’ freshmen began to make an impact, as first-year player Nate West knocked in a jump shot. Classmate Lance Carroll followed with a pair of made free throws, which West followed up with a made freebie on Goshen’s next trip. After a third consecutive defensive stop, freshman Hugh Weiskittel banged in a huge three pointer with 10:24 remaining to tie the game at 56-56.

From that point, the game was up for grabs.

A three-ball from Carroll at the game’s 6:39 mark gave Goshen a 65-60 lead, and the Leafs’ advantage was 71-67 with 3:54 to play.

It was then that Bluffton began to make more plays than Goshen.

A pair of missed jumpers and a shot clock violation on the Leafs’ ensuing three possessions gave the Beavers new life, and the hosts more than took advantage of it. Four straight made free throws and a huge offensive rebound put-back gave Bluffton a 75-71 lead with 1:17 remaining, and Daugherty’s team was put in a position of needed baskets.

Senior Willie Frazier drew a foul on Goshen’s next trip, and made one of two free throws. A defensive stop resulted in freshman Errick McCollum going to the line, who also made one of two. With the lead cut to 76-73 (Bluffton went one of two from the line on its next trip) Goshen had perhaps its best chance to shift the momentum, as senior David Haire got free for an open three on the baseline with 36 seconds remaining.

His shot was long, however, and Goshen was forced to foul. Even with Bluffton missing three of its final four free throws, the Leafs could not get a needed shot to fall. Goshen missed its final four shots from the field, and its final two free throws for the final 73-79 score.

Junior Brice Hartman led Goshen in scoring on the evening, notching 15 points on a seven for 13 shooting performance. McCollum added 12 points on a four for nine effort, while Carroll scored 11 in shooting three for five. Frazier went for six and six, while West added nine points and six boards. Goshen shot 44.6 percent from the field in the game (25 of 56), but allowed Bluffton to shoot a remarkable 55.6 percent from the floor in the second half (15 of 27).

“We have to make two or three plays in the final few minutes in order to win these type of games,” Daugherty said. “Hopefully we can learn from each close game experience and start finishing games with better execution on both ends of the court. This road stretch will either make us better after Christmas or will discourage us. I do think we have made some major improvements in the last month. Now we have to continue to improve in this road stretch of games.”

Goshen will not have long to wait for its next road appearance, as the team will face another talented team Monday night. The Leafs will travel to the Hammond Civic Center to face Calumet College Monday evening. Game time is set for 8 p.m. (EST).