GOSHEN, Ind. — Tahj Curry led all scorers with 23 points and Braden Kingery added a career-high 5 3-pointers to finish with 17 points Saturday afternoon as the Goshen College men's basketball team dropped its penultimate home game of the 2020-21 season to Mount Vernon Nazarene University 98-68 at Ruth Gunden Gymnasium.
Curry knocked down 3 of his 7 shots from long distance and Ryan Mansbarger added a pair, but Kingery was a nearly-automatic 5-for-6 as he more than doubled his previous scoring output. He added 3 rebounds and 2 steals, tying for the team lead in the latter category, while Curry led the team with 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. Mansbarger and Quincy Mussio also had 5 boards.
Mount Vernon Nazarene improved to 8-10 overall and 7-7 in league play thanks to 57 percent shooting, going 20-for-36 in the first half and 19-for-33 in the second. They added a 43 percent clip from long range and outrebounded Goshen 43-28.
Kyle Kegley led the Cougars with 22 points and 13 rebounds for a double-double, hitting 10 in both categories by halftime. He shot 9-of-12 from the floor and added 4 blocks. Jevon Knox chipped in 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting and added 7 rebounds while Clay Hilliard, Kade Ruegsegger and Eric McLaughlin all scored in double figures.
Robert Sanders added 12 points and 2 steals for the Maple Leafs (3-22, 0-14). GC's three starting guards were each on pace to play more than 37 minutes before Curry fouled out; Kingery also added 33 minutes off the bench.
Goshen hit at a 38 percent clip (11-for-29) from long range but shot 34 percent (22-for-64) overall. The Maple Leafs had 8 shots blocked and were outscored 54-20 in the painted area.
MVNU scored 9 of the first 12 points to take the lead in the opening minutes before GC tied the score at 11 behind Kingery's first 3. The hosts led briefly at 16-14 before the Cougars went on an 11-1 run to stretch the lead to 8.
MVNU used another 17-5 run to go up by as many as 19 in the first half, leading 49-33 at intermission following a Curry 3-point play with 2.4 seconds left.
The Cougars put the pedal to the metal out of the break, scoring 19 points in the first four minutes of the second half to go up 68-39. The teams traded 8-point runs before MVNU went up by as many as 34 on an 11-0 streak with 7:14 remaining.
Goshen finished the game on a 10-2 run after holding its foe to one field goal in the last 5:17.
Goshen hits the road Wednesday for a visit to Huntington University in a matchup of the two Crossroads League schools with arboreal nicknames. The Maple Leafs and Foresters will tip off at 7 p.m. inside Platt Arena.
