(Box Score) Goshen, IN — An off-season full of change provided very familiar results for the Goshen College men’s basketball program Wednesday night, as the Leafs opened the 2007-2008 campaign with a 90-59 drubbing of Andrews University in the Roman Gingerich Center.
The routine result came under the direction of new leadership, as first-year head coach Gary Chupp officially opened his tenure as the Leafs’ leader with the victory. The win pushed Goshen (1-0, 0-0) to 5-0 all time against Andrews, while the 31-point margin of victory was also customary — the Leafs entered the contest averaging a 44.8 point-per-game spread over the Cardinals.
“I think that our guys were certainly ready to play against someone other than ourselves, and we as a coaching staff were looking forward to it as well,” Chupp said. “You’re always ready to play the first game of the year as a player, but as a new staff we were eager to see things in game situations as well. Tonight was a good way to open the season with all 12 guys getting significant minutes and 11 guys getting into the scoring column.”
An early feeling-out process eventually led to a 44-25 Leafs’ advantage at halftime, as sophomore and 2006-2007 Mid-Central Conference Newcomer of the Year Errick McCollum led the charge with 15 first-half points.
Goshen would allow that margin to slip to 12 points early on in the second half, but a 12 to two scoring run helped Chupp’s team to a 60-38 lead with just over 14 minutes to play. Andrews would get no closer for the remainder of the contest, as Goshen rolled to its fifth consecutive season-opening win.
“I was not happy with the way we closed out the first half or started the second half, but that is why you play these early, non-conference games,” Chupp said. “We will learn from it.”
McCollum finished with a game-high 21 points on a six of 15 shooting effort, including a four of six performance from three-point land. Junior Kyle Laker added 10 points and four rebounds, while freshman Jeremy Pope tallied 10 points on a four for six shooting performance.
Sophomore Nate West — hampered by a hamstring injury — provided arguably the most impressive stat line, scoring nine points, grabbing eight rebounds, dishing two assists and collecting two steals, all in just nine minutes of action.
As a team, Goshen shot 44.7 percent from the field (34 of 76 overall), limiting Andrews to just a 39.6 percent effort (21 of 53). The Leafs dished out 22 total assists for the game as well, a mark reached on just one occasion last season (click here for related article).
“For the most part I thought we played unselfish basketball on the offensive end, which is something we have been stressing in practice,” Chupp said. “It’s a daily thing where we just want to get better than where we were the day before. Tonight was a good first step.”
Goshen will face a much tougher challenge next, as the team takes to the road in visiting Indiana University-South Bend on Tuesday. The Leafs will be looking to extend their winning streak to eight straight over the Titans, a stretch that dates back to the 1999-2000 season. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
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Sophomore Errick McCollum