GOSHEN, Ind. - Kyle Capps won his first Crossroads League game as head coach of the Maple Leafs, and the men's basketball team got back in the win column for the first time in more than a month with a win against the Taylor Trojans on Thursday night. The game was scheduled for Wednesday night but was played a day late due to the weather.
The Leafs had lost their last seven matchups with the Trojans, last winning in 2019. "Our guys were 'present for 40'," said Capps after the game, "something that we talk about all season long."
Taylor led 5-4 early on, but Goshen went on a 10-0 run that ensured they would be playing from the driver's seat for the rest of the game. Taylor cut back in on the lead, bringing it down to two, but Goshen took the lead back to nine later on. At the break, Goshen held a 39-33 edge.
While the Trojans kept the game from getting out of hand, they would not be on top again after starting the game up 5-4. GC was up 66-58 with 2:17 remaining in the game, but Kaden Fuhrmann scored the following five points to make it a three-point game with 1:34 to go. Goshen called a timeout as they drew up their next possession.
Caleb Wright missed his attempt, but
Kaden Johnson grabbed the rebound. Wright passed it to Greg Johnson, who hit a three that made it a two-possession game with 52 seconds left. Taylor scored once more, but Greg Johnson and
Elias Ramirez hit free throws to win 72-65.
Greg Johnson was the leading scorer for the Leafs, scoring 17 points off the bench. He made all five of his free-throw attempts and had two steals.
Judah Simfukwe had 16 points, six rebounds and was 6-9 shooting.
Caleb Wright,
Isaac Miller,
Elias Ramirez, and
Jo Kynard scored 8+ points, and
Kaden Johnson brought down 12 rebounds.
The Leafs outrebounded the Trojans by 11. Taylor's Jason Hubbard, the leading scorer in the Crossroads League, was held to just 12 points on 4-11 shooting. He is averaging 23.6 points per contest. "We talked about making Hubbard earn everything," said Capps, "and Isaac [Miller] and Greg [Johnson] made him do that."
Goshen is back home on Saturday, January 28, when they face #16 Marian. Tipoff is set for 3:00 pm.
