Box Score | Postgame Interview

GOSHEN, Ind. — Conner Funkhouser scored a season-high 23 points on 6-of-10 shooting beyond the arc, Devin Heath-Granger added a season-high 18 points and matched his career best with 10 assists, and the Goshen College men's basketball team shot 57 percent from the floor in the second half of an 89-80 win over no. 1 Saint Francis in Crossroads League men's basketball Saturday at Gunden Gymnasium.

USF (11-1, 2-1 CL) led 9-0 to start the game, prompting a Goshen timeout two minutes in, and led 35-32 at halftime. The Maple Leafs (8-3, 2-1) took the lead for good with 13:24 to play in the second half, part of a 14-0 run in which they held their visitors scoreless over nearly four minutes.

Over the final two-thirds of the second half, USF cut the lead to one possession twice: a Vijay Blackmon 3-pointer with 10:08 to play pulled the Cougars to within 61-58, and in the closing minutes Evan Henry scored at the 1:46 mark to close the gap to 78-76.

After Henry's bucket, the second of two Cougar triples on 14 tries after halftime, Goshen turned the ball over on offense, only to get it back on a missed fast-break layup at the other end. Heath-Granger corralled the rebound and took a foul with 1:18 remaining, sinking one of two foul shots to push the lead back to 79-76.

Again, Saint Francis had the ball in a one-possession game. A 3-point try from distance went awry, though, and Alhassan Barrie fetched the carom with 55.4 seconds to play.

In the final minute, Goshen went 10-for-10 at the foul line, leaving the team 15-of-18 (83 percent) after halftime and 18-of-26 (69 percent) on the afternoon. Over the final 60 seconds, the Cougars made just one of seven shots from the floor, a bucket from Bryce Lienhoop with :28.7 to play after a flurry of tap-in tries had ended with the ball lodging between the rim and the backboard seconds earlier.

The victory marks Goshen's first win in 13 tries against the nation's top-ranked team and the second win in 49 tries against the top five in the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Coaches Poll. The Maple Leafs were previously 0-5 all-time against the Cougars while USF was ranked in the top 10.

"Tonight was a great night for our guys," said Goshen coach Neal Young. "We have been building for a breakout game offensively and tonight we got it. "It's one thing as a coach to come up with a game plan. It's another thing entirely for your players to go out and execute against the best team in the country. They deserve all the credit for this one. We competed without fear of failure, just flat out went for it and as the coach it was fun to see them play with that freedom."

Chandler White and Kyle Sovine led USF with 17 points apiece as the Cougars shot 46 percent (31-for-67) from the floor, including 13-for-25 (52 percent) in the opening 20 minutes. Henry and Lienhoop each added 12 points and Vijay Blackmon contributed 10, leaving Saint Francis with a 44-24 edge on points in the paint, but Goshen finished with a 37-33 rebound edge.

Beyond the arc, however, Goshen finished with a 39-18 edge: Funkhouser scored 18 of his 23 points that way. Christian Grider and Xavier Newson canned a pair of 3s apiece en route to 19 and 12 points, respectively. Grider's total was a season-high; Goshen's 50-percent shooting (13-of-26) from distance was the second-highest mark of the year.

"I was pleased with our effort on the boards," Young said. "USF is an elite offensive rebounding team and holding them to 10 was big time for us. But without question, the difference in the game was the 3-point line. To hold this team to 6-for-23 means our guys were giving max effort to close out."

Goshen assisted on 20 of its 29 makes while USF dimes led to 18 of the 31 baskets. Lienhoop and Keegan Comer finished with five assists apiece for the visitors. The teams combined for 35 turnovers, although the short floors led to only 32 points.

Eight Maple Leafs saw the floor, playing between 15 and 35 minutes apiece. Kevin Phillips, Billy Geschke and Dominique Cartier scored five points each: Grider led the team with 10 rebounds, while Funkhouser and Phillips each added blocks.

Goshen will face a third consecutive ranked opponent on Wednesday in a visit to no. 17 Bethel. Tip-off at the Wiekamp Center in Mishawaka is set for 8 p.m. following a women's game at 6:00.

More, including the audio of Young's postgame radio interview, to come when available.