GOSHEN, Ind. — Tahj Curry wrapped up his Goshen College men's basketball career with his fourth 30-point game Saturday afternoon, dropping exactly 33 points for the second time this season to lead all scorers, but NAIA no. 17 Bethel University topped the Maple Leafs 96-84 at Ruth Gunden Gymnasium.
Ryan Mansbarger hit five 3-pointers off the bench to finish with 21 points and 8 rebounds for the Maple Leafs while Robert Sanders and Phillip Hughes both racked up 13 points and 3 assists. Curry led the team with 6 assists and 3 steals and Quincy Mussio blocked 3 shots.
Bethel (20-9, 9-7) shot 49 percent from the floor and 8-of-14 from 3-point range in the first half to take a 54-32 halftime lead, then held on in the second half by shooting 50 percent from the floor and 15-of-18 at the stripe as Goshen outscored them 52-42.
All five Pilot starters hit double figures, led by Nathan Aerts with 25 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Jared DeHart also added five 3s and 23 points while Life Granville scored 10 points and led the team with 3 steals.
Goshen (3-24, 0-16) shot 40 percent from the floor in the first half, turning up the offensive efficiency to 22-for-33 in the second half to finish at 63 percent for the game. Each team turned the ball over 8 times in the first half, but Bethel created more possessions by nabbing 10 offensive rebounds as well as 18 of the possible 19 defensive boards.
BU went up 11-2 in the first half before 3-pointers from Curry and Mansbarger brought Goshen back within a point. Sanders scored at the 11:52 mark to make it 17-14 before the Pilots held the Maple Leafs to one field goal over the next six minutes in a 22-4 run. The visitors used another 8-point spurt to go up by as many as 25 before Mansbarger hit a 3 just before the horn.
It took more than five minutes of the second half for either team to get consecutive buckets with a stop between them, and even then Sanders' jumper only cut the lead to 21. The teams continued to trade until Goshen forced three turnovers in four possessions and Hughes took over on offense, scoring six of GC's 10 points as a 10-0 run made it 72-59 with 7:27 left.
Goshen trimmed the lead to 10 on three separate occasions and Mansbarger's last 3 made it 87-78 with 98 seconds remaining. After the Pilots canned five of six free throws on the other end, Braden Kingery subbed out to an ovation with 28 seconds left and Micah Spatt replaced Curry with 22 seconds remaining.
Head coach Jon Tropf saved his last sub for a timeout with 11.6 seconds left, though, when he sent in manager Michael Hunnicutt to replace Parker Sullivan. Hunnicutt missed a left-wing 3-pointer on his first career shot, but Hughes saved the rebound and Spatt hooked up his senior teammate for a layup at the horn.
The Pilots' victory, coupled with the Bethel women's win over Goshen in Mishawaka, gave BU the lead in the U.S. Highway 20 Cup rivalry trophy series. BU led 4¼ to 3¾ at the end of the game.
With the win, Bethel moved into a tie with Saint Francis for third in the Crossroads League; the Pilots will enter the conference tournament next week as the third seed thanks to their win over second-place Marian. Goshen finished ninth in the circuit and will not advance to the postseason.
The conference tournaments are slated to wrap up in the first week of March with conference honors being announced soon thereafter. Stay tuned to GoLeafs.net for the latest developments in GC men's basketball throughout the summer.
