GOSHEN, Ind. — Despite a team-high 18 points from Kody Chandler, Goshen College's bid to defeat the third-ranked men's basketball team in the nation fell short Tuesday night in a 78-75 loss to Indiana Wesleyan University at Gunden Gymnasium.

Goshen (5-3, 1-1 Crossroads League) scored the game's first seven points, allowed the next seven, but pulled back ahead 19-11 just before the midpoint of the first half. The Maple Leafs led for the entire first half save the opening seconds and took a 43-34 edge into the locker room buoyed by 47 percent (17-of-35) shooting.

Billy Geschke and Chandler led the Maple Leafs with nine points in the opening stanza. Alhassan Barrie and Xavier Newson added seven each. Jacob Johnson paced the Wildcats (8-1, 2-0) with nine points. Goshen grabbed 18 rebounds to IWU's 14 and held its guests to 9-of-25 (36 percent) shooting.

The Wildcats responded with a 7-1 run to close the gap to 44-41 less than three minutes after halftime, but could not initially get further. Goshen held onto the lead past the midway point of the half, with Indiana Wesleyan briefly pulling ahead 59-58 at the 9:26 mark. But Kevin Phillips scored on the next possession and the GC defense forced a stop, paving the way for a Kody Chandler bucket to put the hosts back up three.

A Saikou Jallow basket with 3:29 to play gave IWU a 68-66 lead with 3:27 left and the visitors never trailed again. Phillips, Grider and Chandler each scored in the final minute for GC, closing the final margin to a possession with just 1.5 seconds left.

Wildcat Lane Mahurin led all players with 16 points after halftime; Chandler, Phillips and Conner Funkhouser had nine each for Goshen, meaning the trio accounted for all but five of their team's points.

Over the final 20 minutes, the Wildcats tickled the twine, making 18 of their 36 tries (50 percent) and holding Goshen to 38 percent (13-for-34) from the floor. IWU also undid Goshen's early rebound edge with a 25-16 mark in that category after halftime.

All told, Mahurin led all scorers with 20 points; Bob Peters also tossed in 17 for IWU. Wildcat Ben Carlson finished with a double-double (15 points, 10 rebounds), edging out Phillips by one board for the game high. IWU finished with 44.5 percent shooting to Goshen's 43.8 percent and outrebounded the Maple Leafs 39-34.

The loss drops Goshen back to .500 in the Crossroads League and 5-3 overall. Top-ranked Saint Francis visits Gunden Gymnasium at 3 p.m. Saturday, marking the first time in school history that Goshen has played top-three teams in back-to-back games.