GOSHEN, Ind. - Men's basketball has now won back-to-back Crossroads League games, both by one point each, after taking down #24 Taylor on Wednesday night. The Maple Leafs won in overtime 79-78.
Taylor, a team posting a 16-6 record heading into the game, got off to a hot start with a 9-2 run. The Leafs answered back and tied it at ten with five points coming from
Kenny May and a three-pointer from
Deecon Hill. That was immediately followed by a 9-0 run by the visitors, and they led by as many as 14 on multiple occasions in the half. At the break, they held a 41-30 advantage.
The Taylor lead was still in double digits with 4:20 to go, but Goshen ended regulation on a 15-5 run to force overtime. The last few minutes of the game was the
Kamren Williams show. Williams hit three consecutive three-pointers on three consecutive Goshen possessions. That took a 67-59 deficit to a 71-68 deficit. Williams then scored with 43 seconds left to pull within one, and hit the free-throw on the and-one to tie it. The Trojans had a pair of late misses that sent the game to overtime.
The Maple Leafs took their first lead of the game 58 seconds into overtime on a basket from
Braden Allen, but the two-point lead would be the largest lead for either team in overtime.
Kenny May scored Goshen's next two field goals and the Leafs led 77-76 with 47 seconds to go. The Trojans were at the line with 37 seconds left and made both shots to retake the lead.
Saiveon Williams scored on a goaltending call with 20 seconds remaining and Taylor wasn't able to score again. They missed a shot with just a few second to go but got the ball back and used a timeout with 1.2 seconds left. The three at the buzzer was just short and the Leafs came out on top.
Goshen's nine overall wins and two conference wins are both more than the last three seasons combined. Goshen's fourth overtime game of the season ties a program record set in 2006-07, which also contained a loss to Indiana Wesleyan and a win over Taylor among those four games. It's their first time with consecutive conference wins since February 10-13, 2016.
In the second half, Goshen shot 73% from the floor (19-26) and 75% from three (6-8). The Leafs finished 60% form three-point range, their best percentage in a game since November 13, 2020 and their best in a conference game since January 12, 2019. The 58% field goal percentage in this game was the best this season.
Kamren Williams' 20 points and 35 minutes played are career highs. He tied a career high with four threes and scored Goshen's last 12 points of regulation.
Kenny May's 19 points and 37 minutes played are career highs.
Braden Allen posted his first game with five or more points, assists and rebounds.
Marcus Northern had 17 points and had four threes in a game for the second time in a row and the fourth time this season.
This was the first time the women's and men's teams had swept a conference doubleheader since January 29, 2022, and their first time doing it at home since December 4, 2021.
Goshen is at Saint Francis on Saturday, February 7, at 3:00 pm.
