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NOV.
7 — ODU Gets Past Frazier-Less Leafs, 77-65
Goshen
leads majority of contest until senior's injury; status
doubtful for weekend |
(Box
Score) Goshen, IN — In retrospect, Goshen’s best play
Tuesday night against visiting Ohio Dominican University also turned
out to be its most horrific.
Senior Willie Frazier blocked a shot with just under four minutes
elapsed in the second half, sprinted down the floor and took
a beautiful pass from senior David Haire for a leaning layup — plus
a foul. Unfortunately for the Leafs, Frazier landed awkwardly
on an ODU player
on the way down, severely spraining his right ankle. With 15:45
remaining in the game and Goshen leading by a 40-37 score,
Frazier did not return.
The Leafs were then outscored 40-25 the rest of the way, suffering
their first loss of the year by a 77-65 score.
Frazier’s right leg was on the minds of everyone associated with
Goshen basketball following the contest, as the senior post player watched
the final 15 minutes of play with his leg elevated at the end of the
bench.
It was not where Goshen head coach Stan Daugherty would have
liked him to be.
“It obviously hurt us when Willie went down,” Daugherty
said following the contest. “He battled really hard against (Ohio
Dominican post player Austyn) Covington, and we felt like he was just
getting started.
Injuries are part of the game, however, and we’ll have to adjust
and keep improving.”
Goshen (1-1, 0-0) opened the night with a smooth start, knocking
in its first three three-pointers of the contest in taking an early
9-3 lead over the Panthers. A quick 7-1 Ohio Dominican run tied the
score at 10-10, and from that point things were close: 12 first-half
lead changes and five ties resulted in a 31-30 ODU lead at the half
following a buzzer-beating jump shot from the Panthers P.J. Rase, giving
both teams an equal opportunity heading into the second period.
“I really thought we had a good effort all night long,” Daugherty
said. “We played hard and tried to do the right things on both
ends of the floor, but we still have to be stronger with the
ball collectively. It will take some time to bring unity to our offense,
but we are seeing
positive signs.”
Ohio Dominican looked to Covington — the America Mideast Conference
Freshman of the Year last season — early in the second half, as
the 6-7 post player scored two of the Panthers’ first six points
of the period in opening up a 37-30 lead. A bucket from freshman Errick
McCollum followed by a three-ball from junior Brice Hartman
tied the game at
37-37, when Covington caught the ball on the block and spun
to the middle on ODU’s next possession.
Frazier was there to greet him with authority.
Rejecting Covington’s shot, Frazier took off down the floor as
Haire pushed the ball up the right side. Stopping at the elbow, Haire
hit Frazier in stride, finishing at the rim as a Panther defender slid
under Frazier attempting to draw the charge.
His effort was late, however, and Frazier scored — but landed
awkwardly. Goshen College athletic trainers will evaluate Frazier Wednesday
morning, but all initial indications looked bleak for the immediate
future.
“Willie has some severe swelling,” said Linda Kaminskis,
Goshen College head athletic trainer. “We will take a look at
(the ankle) in the morning, but I would expect him to be out for at
least a week
if not more.”
With Frazier gone, Ohio Dominican pounded the ball inside with
greater efficiency. After holding the visitors to just a 46.4 percent
shooting effort in the first half (13 of 28), Goshen allowed ODU a 60.6
shooting clip in the second period (20 of 33), including a nine for
11 second-half shooting effort from Covington and fellow 6-7 post Bryan
West. That tandem scored 20 of their combined 28 points in the game’s
final 20 minutes.
Perhaps pressing following Frazier’s injury, the Leafs began to
struggle from the field. After connecting on 10 of 19 first-half attempts
(52.6 percent), Goshen made 11 of 25 in the second half (44 percent),
including a four of 14 performance from behind the arc (28.6 percent).
Daugherty’s team knocked in four of seven threes (57.1 percent)
in the first half.
“We have to take what we learned from this and get better,” Daugherty
said. “We were inconsistent on offense, especially in the second
half. We shot the ball quick when we got down a bit in the
second half, and really couldn’t get back into the flow that we
had in the first half.”
Ohio Dominican stretched its lead to eight points with 6:41
remaining in the game (61-53), and Goshen could get no closer than six
points the remainder of the way. Hartman led all scorers with 24 points
on eight of 13 shooting. McCollum chipped in 12 on a four of eight effort
from the floor. Frazier scored four points and grabbed five boards in
a limited effort. No other Goshen player scored more than six points.
“Brice Hartman gave us a very good effort and a very consistent
effort,” Daugherty said. “He has come into this year with
a positive attitude and a business-like approach. With Frazier
out for however long, we will have to have guys step in collectively
to fill
that void.”
Goshen will not have much time to re-work its lineup, as the
team will host the fourth-annual McDonald’s Maple City Hoopfest
this weekend. Goshen will face Madonna University in Friday
night’s
initial game at 6 p.m. Indiana University-South Bend will face
Taylor University-Fort Wayne in the late game. Consolation
game is set for
1 p.m. Saturday with the championship set for a 3 p.m. tip-off. |
  Senior
Willie Frazier
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