Home Sweet Home: Leafs Win Home Opener 115-68
November 6, 2009
GOSHEN, Ind. – After opening the season with a road loss, the Goshen College men’s basketball team rebounded in a big way with a 115-68 victory over Holy Cross College in the opening round of their own Maple City Hoopfest Friday night.
Seven different Maple Leafs scored in double figures and all 11 players who entered the game scored. Goshen shot a sizzling 54% from the field and 60% from 3-point territory (9-for-15) as they took control of the game from the opening tip.
“I liked the fact that we had good scoring balance with seven guys in double figures,” third-year head coach Gary Chupp said. “Having 26 assists also meant we were sharing the ball well.”
In front of the home crowd, Goshen scored the first 12 points of the game and held the Saints off the scoreboard until Adam Dorbrzykowski hit a jumper at the 14:28 mark. The Leafs quickly went on an 8-0 run and added a 7-0 streak late in the half as they took a lofty 60-32 lead into halftime.
Goshen started the second half the exact way they began the game, with a 12-0 run. They then crossed the century mark for the first time since January 5, 2007 with an Austin Hefley three-point play with 8:11 remaining.
Junior Daniel Butler led all scorers with 17 points, shooting a perfect 7-of-7 from the field in just 15 minutes on the court. Other Goshen players in double figures were Errick McCollum II (15), Asutin Hefley (15), Jeremy Pope (12), Simon Szablicki (11), Kyle Davis (10), and Casey Pratt (10).
On the defensive end, Goshen forced 30 Saint turnovers and won the rebounding battle by a 45 to 28 count.
“The emphasis tonight was to put a lot of pressure on the basketball and score off our defense,” Chupp added. “For the most part, I was very pleased with that tonight.”
Immediately before the Leafs big win, two nationally ranked teams locked heads at the Roman Gingerich Recreation-Fitness Center. Grand View College (Iowa) – ranked No. 7 in the NAIA DII poll – took as much as a 22-point lead before holding on for a 75-63 win over No. 16 Cornerstone University.
Cornerstone and Holy Cross will play in the consolation game tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 p.m., while the Maple Leafs will face off against Grand View in the championship at 3:00 p.m.
“We will have our hands full with Grand View,” Chupp explained. “There is a reason they are ranked seventh in the country. They have a lot of skilled size and we are going to have to do a much better job on the glass.”
The Vikings big men, Kevin Smith and Corey Viet, combined for 37 points and 16 rebounds against Cornerstone and will be a handful for a shorthanded Maple Leaf interior on Saturday.
