MARION, Ind. - Goshen was within five points of Indiana Wesleyan with under two minutes to go, but the Wildcats prevailed for an 85-76 win in Marion on Wednesday night. Judah Simfukwe had a season-high 26 points for the Leafs.

Simfukwe had a nearly flawless first half. He made five of his six shot attempts, was 3-3 from three and 4-5 from the free-throw line. By the end of the half he was already at 17 points. However, IWU was shooting 61% in the first half and made nine three-pointers. They were leading the rebound margin 22-7 and had a 7-0 advantage in offensive rebounds.

The Wildcats led 49-34 at the half but the Maple Leafs chipped away at the lead. It was a ten point game with around 12 minutes to go, and the margin stayed around 10-13 points for a while. When a layup from Jacob Carlson made it a five-point game with 1:24 to go, GC head coach Kyle Capps called a timeout as Goshen was the closest they had been since the start.

The Goshen defense held Indiana Wesleyan scoreless on their next possession and the Leafs had the ball down five with 57 seconds to go. Simfukwe missed a jumper on the right side with 32 seconds to go, and after a foul, DJ Moore hit two free-throws for the home team to take the lead up to seven. Simfukwe missed a three on Goshen's next possession and IWU escaped with a nine-point win after having as much as a 20-point lead. This was Goshen's closest game at IWU since 2017.

Simfukwe had 26 points for Goshen and made four of his five three-point attempts - tying a career-high with four made. He shot 8-13 overall and brought down four rebounds. Richard Wilson scored 20 points in a game for the fifth time this season and went 4-7 from downtown. He had six rebounds with just one turnover in 37 minutes. Juraj Minarovjech had nine points with a season-high three three-pointers and Saiveon Williams needed just 12 minutes of action to score a season-high nine points. He shot a perfect 6-6 from the free-throw line - also a season-high for free-throws made. This was the fifth time this year that Goshen has had multiple 20-point scorers in a game, though all five pairings have been different.

• Concordia - Bradford 24, Wilson 21
• Kuyper - Bradford 25, Carlson 20
• Midway - Humes 21, Wilson 21
• Taylor - Wilson 31, Northern 21
• IWU - Simfukwe 26, Wilson 20

The Leafs made 8-13 three-pointers in the second half to keep them in the game. However, they were outrebounded by 18, and 10-1 in offensive rebounds. Indiana Wesleyan doubled Goshen's points in the paint total 36-18. Indiana Wesleyan is receiving votes in the latest coaches poll, released earlier on Wednesday.

The Leafs host #18 Huntington on Saturday, January 18, at 3:00 pm.