(Box Score) South Bend, IN — With cameras rolling, the Goshen College men’s basketball team provided quite the show Tuesday night at Indiana University-South Bend, knocking off the host Titans by a 92-80 score in the Leafs’ first road game of the season.
Goshen (2-0, 0-0) and the host Titans combined to shoot a very TV-friendly 55.7 percent from the floor in the first half en route to a 45-45 score at intermission, only for the Leafs to salt things away late: An 11 to four run sparked by a pair of three-pointers from freshman Jeremy Pope turned a one-possession game into a 10-point lead with just over three minutes remaining, helping the Leafs to their eighth straight win over the Indiana-South Bend program.
The game was covered by local television network SBT2, and will be featured as the “Match Up of the Week” on two occasions, airing this Saturday night at 11 p.m. and this Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. Viewers in the greater South Bend area can find SBT2 at digital channel 22.2 on all area Comcast systems and on channel 30 for viewers subscribing to the Dish Network.
The added limelight did little to affect first-year head coach Gary Chupp’s opinion of his team’s play, however, as Chupp became the first Goshen coach since Dwight Gingerich (2000-2001) to win his first two games as the program’s leader.
“I think it’s great that Michiana Promotions is giving more coverage to small college basketball this year, as it’s certainly a great brand of basketball, especially in this area,” Chupp said. “But being on TV wasn’t something we talked about specifically. We just wanted to come out and play better than we did last week. For the most part, I thought it was a solid win. We had some guys really step up in the second half on both ends of the floor, and we responded well to some needed adjustments at halftime.”
Stellar defense was not part of the equation for either team during the first 20 minutes of play, as Goshen connected on 16 of 29 shots from the field (55.2 percent) while Indiana-South Bend made 18 of 32 (56.3 percent). The Titans’ clip would have been lower had it not been for a late run, as Indiana-South Bend turned a 42-30 Goshen lead into a 45-45 contest at the break. A three-point basket from sophomore Caleb Kitchell and another by classmate Nate West constituted the Leafs’ only scoring in the half’s final 4:32, as Indiana-South Bend connected on its last six shots from the floor in helping to a 15 to three run to close out the period.
“For the second game in a row we did a poor job of closing out the first half,” Chupp said. “We had them on the ropes being up 12 and broke down defensively to let them back in it. This is something that we must improve on.”
With a tight game reinvented, Chupp’s team persevered against a Titan team that simply would not go away. A basket by Indiana-South Bend’s Tyler Leighton gave the hosts a 52-50 lead with 15:38 to play, but a driving layup — plus a foul — from Pope gave the lead back to Goshen with 15:05 remaining.
The Leafs would not trail again.
A steal and fast break dunk from West ignited a strong contingent of Leafs’ fans on Goshen’s next defensive possession, while a three-point play from McCollum turned the game into a 58-52 difference on the Leafs’ next trip.
The Titans continued to make small runs, however, cutting Goshen’s lead to just two points — a 62-60 advantage — with just 8:37 remaining. The score was 66-63, Goshen, with 6:44 on the clock when Pope buried a long three in the face of a defender, only to have the Titans’ Leighton score a layup on the subsequent possession.
Another three from Pope made it a 72-65 ballgame with 5:28 to play, generally deflating the Titans’ spirits in the process. Three straight free throws from West helped build a 77-67 Goshen lead with 3:32 to play, and Indiana-South Bend could get no closer than seven points down the stretch.
McCollum finished with a team-leading 26 points and six rebounds, handing out three assists as well. West — behind an 11 for 14 effort from the charity stripe — scored 18, while Pope tallied 16 points on a five for seven shooting performance. Senior Brice Hartman added 13 points, while junior Sam Boldman scored six on a perfect two for two performance from the three-point arc.
“I thought that Nate West did a great job defensively in the second half on Leighton and Jeremy Pope knocked down some huge shots,” Chupp said. “Brice Hartman brought a lot of energy on the defensive end in the second half. I was pleased with the ball movement on offense and the way we knocked down free throws, especially late in the game. Defensively, our interior defense has to get much better. Giving up 50 percent from the field is not going to get it done when we get into conference play.”
Tuesday’s contest was the season’s first installment of SBT2’s “Match Up of the Week,” programming produced and televised by Michiana Promotions in cooperation with Michiana Video. Originally started with the television of high school baseball games, this season’s schedule will include roundball contests from Mid-Central Conference schools Bethel College, Huntington University and Grace College, in addition to a full high school slate.
“We look forward to airing over 15 high school and college basketball games this winter, and we plan to once again televise an expanded schedule of baseball in the spring,” said Ron Bedward, producer of sporting events at Michiana Promotions. “We are very excited about being able to shine the spotlight on even more of our area kids, while promoting many of the other positive aspects of the local schools and their student activities.”
The Goshen – Indiana South-Bend contest will air twice on SBT2 this weekend. Click here for detailed schedule information.
Goshen will next host the annual Maple City Hoopfest. Play begins at 6 p.m. Friday, with Aquinas College and Cardinal Stritch University opening the event. Goshen will host Malone College at approximately 8 p.m. Friday evening. The tournament’s consolation game is set for 1 p.m. Saturday, with the championship set for 3 p.m.
| 
Freshman Jeremy Pope 