McCollum Gets 2,000th Point, But Maple Leafs Fall In Opener
November 3, 2009
Senior Errick McCollum II
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – It took just one game for senior guard Errick McCollum II to reach yet another milestone, but a poor shooting night overall for the Goshen College men’s basketball team saw the Maple Leafs drop their season-opener 70-80 to host Indiana University – South Bend Tuesday night.
Just under two minutes into the second half, McCollum hit a 3-pointer to put him over 2,000 points for his career. He becomes just the second Maple Leaf in the history of the Goshen College program to reach the mark and is less than 300 points from all-time leading scorer Eric Walsh (2,277).
McCollum’s historic night, however, was overshadowed by the Leafs opening loss. A high-pressure Goshen attack managed to force 23 South Bend turnovers, but they allowed the Titans to hit more than 55% from the field and 47% from 3-point territory.
“I was extremely disappointed with our defensive intensity tonight,” third-year head coach Gary Chupp said afterwards. “For us to be good, we need to be able to lock down on the perimeter, and tonight our communication and rotations were not there. Give IUSB credit, they shot the ball extremely well and made us pay for our defensive mistakes.”
While the Titans were red-hot from the field, the Maple Leafs fired just 38% on the night. Goshen also hit just 4-of-22 from beyond the arch as they could not keep up with the host.
“You are not going to win many games shooting the ball as poorly as we did tonight,” Chupp admitted before adding, “I am not as concerned about the offensive end, because for the most part, we got the looks we wanted.”
Goshen did get the initial lead in the game as freshman Kyle Davis connected with cousin Daniel Butler on an alley-oop. It was short lived, however, as the Titans quickly tied it up before the teams battled back and forth for much of the opening 20 minutes.
Indiana University – South Bend closed the first half on a 9-1 run as they opened a 38-31 lead going into the locker rooms. The stats were fairly even in the half as both teams shot between 41 and 42 percent, but the Titans five 3-pointers provided much of the difference in the scoreline.
The Maple Leafs rallied on several occasions in the second half as they cut the lead down as low as a single point. They could not sustain a run, however, as they let IUSB hit 78% from the field in the second half as the Titans went on for the victory in their home opener.
“As bad as we were defensively, we still had multiple opportunities late to get back in it but couldn’t get that key defensive stop when we needed it,” Chupp added. “The positive is this was our first game, and it won’t be hard to see in our film session tomorrow where the breakdowns were defensively. We will learn from it.”
McCollum led all scorers with 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting, while fellow senior Nate West Jr. added 14 points and junior Daniel Butler II chipped in 13.
Goshen hosts the Maple City Hoopfest on Friday and Saturday. Friday starts with a 6:00 p.m. match up between NAIA DII #7 Grand View (Iowa) and #16 Cornerstone (Mich.). The Leafs will then face off against Holy Cross College at 8:00 p.m.
