Box Score
GOSHEN, Ind. – Senior Brice Hartman must have decided at halftime that his final regular-season home game was not going to end with a loss. The 6'6" forward came out and scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half to lead the Goshen College men's basketball team to a 79-71 win over visiting Taylor University Saturday afternoon.
Hoping to spark the Maple Leafs to a late-season surge and the possibility of a home MCC tournament game, Hartman hit 5-of-10 from the field in the final half, including four from beyond the arch.
"It feels good to send Hartman out on a winning note, and he really came up big in the second half to get us going offensively," expressed Head Coach Gary Chupp. "Sitting out most of the first half with foul trouble, he stepped up to make two big 3's to start the half. He has had an outstanding career, and will be very difficult to replace."
A back-and-forth and physical contest featured ten ties and twelve lead changes. The Trojans broke a 7-7 tie by going on 12-4 run to open up an eight-point advantage ten minutes in.
Goshen wasted little time responding, but used an unlikely offensive weapon in doing so. Back-to-back buckets by junior big-man Kyle Laker knotted the game back up at 22-22 with 6:36 remaining in the first half. Laker shot 78% (7-of-9) for the game while scoring a season-high 17 points and grabbing seven rebounds.
After a pair of long-balls from the Trojans – separated by a three on the other end from Errick McCollum – another pair of Laker baskets again gave the Maple Leafs the lead. Taylor closed out the first half with a trio of free throws from Jacob Bream, giving them a 37-35 advantage going into the locker rooms.
"We did not expect to see a zone from Taylor, and really struggled against it in the first half," explained Chupp. "We talked at halftime about getting more aggressive on the perimeter, and once we started attacking off the dribble, that opened up the outside for spot-up shooters."
Both teams shot under 50% in the half, but the Trojans 6-of-12 mark from 3-point territory gave them a slight cushion. Taylor came out fast in the second half as a pair of field goals from Kyle Pickett opened up a six-point lead.
That is when Hartman took control of the game. Back-to-back 3-pointers gave Goshen a 43-41 lead five minutes into the half. When Taylor retook the lead three minutes later, Hartman answered with another long ball.
After a slow start, McCollum got into the action hitting a pair of threes to open the Maple Leafs' lead to eight with nine minutes to play. McCollum's dribble penetration and stop on a dime jump shot was unstoppable in the second half as he hit 6-of-7 from the field, 4-of-4 from behind the arch, and scored 17 of his game-high 25 points down the stretch.
Taylor was able to draw back within four a few times in the second half. However, each time they did, Goshen responded with what worked all afternoon. A three from McCollum and another layup by Laker stretched the lead to a game-high 10 points with 2:53 on the clock. After the Trojans answered with five-straight points, Hartman hit another three to put the game on ice with 1:21 to play.
Talking about his defense, Chupp said "We did a much better job of containing the dribble and closing out their shooters." The Maple Leafs defense caused Taylor to shoot just 40% in the second half, including a 25% from long range.
Getting a double-double for Goshen in uncommon manner was Nate West Jr., who tallied ten rebounds and eleven assists helping the Maple Leafs finish the ballgame with 23 assists to just seven turnovers. Taylor had six of their seven players who saw minutes reach double-digits in scoring led by Bream who contributed 14 points.
The win places Goshen in a four-way tie with Taylor, Indiana Wesleyan, and Spring Arbor for fourth-place in the MCC. The Maple Leafs will have to go on the road, at Huntington and Marion, with a chance to earn a home playoff game. Wednesday's tipoff is at 7 p.m. at Huntington.
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