GOSHEN, Ind. — Tahj Curry scored 15 points to lead Goshen College, but the top-ranked men's basketball team in the NAIA proved too much for the Maple Leafs to handle in a 103-51 loss to Indiana Wesleyan University at Ruth Gunden Gymnasium.
Quincy Mussio scored a career-high 11 points, tracked down 7 rebounds and blocked 3 shots for the Maple Leafs, who also got 9 points and 8 rebounds from Robert Sanders. The latter rebound total was both a team high for Wednesday night and a career high for the redshirt sophomore from Merrillville, Indiana.
Seth Maxwell led all scorers with 33 points and 10 rebounds for Indiana Wesleyan; the 7-footer hit on 13 of his 15 shots from the floor and made each one of his game-high 7 free-throw attempts.
Kyle Mangas added 20 points on 8-of-17 shooting, including a 1-of-7 mark from 3-point range; he entered the game scoring 29.6 points per game, the best mark in the NAIA and third-highest figure including all three NCAA divisions. However, he led all players with 11 assists and added 9 rebounds.
The Wildcats (24-1, 11-1 Crossroads League) shot 54 percent from the floor and 86 percent at the foul line, adding assists on 28 of their 37 field goals. They finished with 56 points in the paint and 12 steals to match their 12 turnovers. Spencer Piercefield canned 4 of their 8 3-pointers to finish with 12 points.
Goshen (3-20, 1-11) also got 8 points from Kedrick Bibby and 4 apiece from Michael Bowers and Phillip Hughes.
The Maple Leafs led once, at 5-4 after a Sanders 3-point play with 17:45 remaining in the first half, and closed within one point at the 14:53 mark on a Curry triple. Over the next five minutes, though, Indiana Wesleyan scored 15 points against a single Curry free throw as Goshen turned the ball over five times.
Bowers swished a 3-pointer just after the midpoint of the half to start a 7-0 Maple Leaf run before the Wildcats answered with another 14-2 spurt to lead by 20; it was 52-26 at halftime.
Goshen would get no closer in the second half despite its shooting warming up to 42 percent (11-of-26). GC was 1-for-6 from long range and 2-for-7 at the foul line in the last 20 minutes.
Maxwell led all scorers with 11 points after the break; Mussio had 9 points and all 3 of his blocks in the second stanza.
Mangas gave Indiana Wesleyan its largest lead of the game with 3:33 left on his last shot of the game to make it 99-46.
Parker Sullivan added 2 rebounds in 4 minutes of playing time for the Maple Leafs.
Goshen will look to regroup heading into its antepenultimate home game of the season, set for 1 p.m. Saturday against 18th-ranked Marian.
