WINONA LAKE , Ind. – One more upset just wasn't in the books for the Goshen College men's basketball team as they fell to host Grace College 83-68 in the opening round of the Mid-Central Conference Tournament Wednesday night.
The season is over for the Maple Leafs, who were seeded seventh in the tournament. Goshen fell just one win short of the 20-win mark, which has been reached just twice in the 54-year history of Maple Leaf basketball. Playing nearly one-third of their games against NAIA Top25 teams, Goshen pulled off four wins over ranked opponents.
The Maple Leafs got off to a good start as a pair of hard drives resulted in two baskets for Nate West Jr. to give Goshen an early 8-4 lead. A jumper by Austin Kaiser followed by a pair of free throws would knot it back up at 8-8 before Errick McCollum knocked down a long jump shot to retake the lead.
The Lancers scored six straight to open a six-point lead before back-to-back field goals by West and Brice Hartman brought the Maple Leafs back within two.
With eight minutes to play in the opening half, Grace made their move. The Lancers took advantage of three Goshen turnovers and scored on six straight possessions to open up a 14-point advantage with just two minutes ticking off the clock. Center Eric Gaff scored six in the stretch with three straight buckets in the paint.
Hartman ended the run with a 3-pointer to make it 28-17, but the Maple Leafs would not get back within single-digits in the first half and trailed 36-23 going into the locker rooms. Grace shot 59% in the half to Goshen's 35% from the field.
A physical start to the second half saw neither team able to go on much of a run. Grace's lead stayed between nine and thirteen points for the first eleven minutes of the second half.
Jeremy Pope came off the bench and drained a 3-pointer with a hand in his face to bring Goshen within eight, but on the coinciding possession, Micheal Wienhorst hit his own long ball to quickly increase the lead back to double-digits. Grace would increase their lead to as many as 18 and hit 7-of-8 from the free-throw line in the final three minutes to seal the win.
McCollum led Goshen with 20 points, while Hartman hit three 3-pointer for 17 points and West hit 6-of-11 from the field for 16 points. Kyle Johnson led four Lancers in double-figures with a game-high 22 points.
The #18 ranked Lancers go on to host Huntington University in the MCC Tournament semifinals, while the 2007-08 season is complete for the Maple Leafs. Goshen ends the season with a strong 19-12 overall record. McCollum and Hartman were both named to the MCC All-Conference teams and the Maple Leafs graduate just one senior in Brice Hartman.
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