CHICAGO — A hot shooting day for St. Xavier University made it a long afternoon for the Goshen College men's basketball team on Wednesday afternoon as the Maple Leafs dropped a 99-83 decision to the Cougars at the Shannon Center.

The visiting Maple Leafs led by as many as six points in the first half, trailing 40-36 at the intermission. Both teams shot the ball well in the second stanza, with the visitors sinking 18 of 38 shots (47.4 percent) while the hosts went 22-for-36 (61.1 percent) to combine for 106 points in 20 minutes.

Conner Funkhouser scored a career-high 27 points in a 10-for-16 shooting performance for the Maple Leafs (10-5): it included two three-pointers, a 5-for-6 mark at the foul line, and seven rebounds, one short of the game high set by Trevor Commissaris.

Christian Grider (13 points), Devin Heath-Granger (11) and Austin Hayden (11) all scored in double figures for Goshen. Heath-Granger and Hayden tied for the team lead with four assists apiece, and the nine team turnovers were tied for the second-fewest on the season. Goshen reached its season average with 15 assists, but the four assists was the lowest total posted by the team leader.

"I'm not sure I've ever been more proud of a team after a loss than I am today," said Goshen head coach Neal Young. "I'm not in any way happy about losing, but I have told these guys from day one that if they give me everything they've got and play and act unselfishly, I can live with the result. That's exactly what happened. Our bench was active and engaged throughout, guys were picking each other up after mistakes, and the guys on the floor exhausted themselves."

Larry Motuzis scored 35 points for St. Xavier (8-6), which was playing its second game in three days against a Crossroads League opponent after losing to Huntington on Monday. Motuzis shot 12-for-19 from the floor and pulled down seven rebounds.

The loss was Goshen's fourth in the last five games and marked the midway point of the regular season for the Maple Leafs, who have played 15 of their 30 scheduled games. That total will extend to at least 31 if Young's team finishes in the top eight of the Crossroads League, and could reach as high as 38 with a run in the NAIA tournament.

"I truly believe we can turn this season around, but our guys have to commit to getting better in practice every day," Young said. "Then it's a matter of building on the fight and togetherness we showed today."

Goshen returns to the floor on Saturday to begin a stretch of 15 conference games in a 50-day span as conference play recommences after a four-week layoff. Huntington will serve as the visitor for that contest, which begins at 3 p.m. in Gunden Gymnasium.