FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Goshen College senior Tahj Curry scored his 1,000th career point as the Goshen College men's basketball team held the University of Saint Francis scoreless for almost six minutes Saturday, but the Cougars caught fire late in the first half and held off the Maple Leafs 100-85 in a Crossroads League affair at the Hutzell Athletic Center.
Curry's milestone bucket came two minutes and 51 seconds into the contest and put the Maple Leafs up 13-0: Goshen made its first five shots, including three 3-pointers, and six of its first eight on the way to a 17-0 lead. Saint Francis turned the ball over on five of its first eight possessions and missed 3-point shots on its other three.
After the Cougars subbed out their entire starting lineup at the 14:50 mark, a personal foul sent them to the line with 14:18 remaining. Those two free throws started a 14-1 run over the next two minutes that was halted by an Austin Branagan bucket with 11:40 left. Over the course of the countermove, the Cougars were 4-for-5 from the floor with two 3-pointers and four free throws while Goshen was 0-for-4 with a turnover.
Goshen stretched the lead back to eight points, 26-18, with a Curry score at the 8:11 mark. That lead quickly evaporated in a 12-4 Cougar run before things got worse as Saint Francis reeled off 20 straight points in a four-minute span. USF made 11 straight field goals in the latter portion of the first half, going more than eight minutes without a miss while holding the Maple Leafs off the board completely for four of those.
Curry and Branagan each scored in the closing minute of the first half to make the score 51-34 at the intermission. Curry's 15 points led all scorers at that point, though Dan McKeeman and Garrott Ott-Large each had 12 for Saint Francis, which shot 17-for-25 (68 percent) from the floor and 8-for-13 (62 percent) from long range.
The teams combined for 100 points in the second half, with Goshen outscoring its hosts 51-49. Michael Bowers poured in 21 of his 22 points after the intermission, going 12-for-12 at the foul line in that span along with four field goals. Curry added another 18 after the break, going 6-of-7 from the floor including two 3s and adding four free throws.
Saint Francis cooled off a little, still shooting 15-for-30 in the second half and adding another five 3s. The Cougars were 14-of-20 at the foul line and Goshen went 19-of-20 after halftime.
Branagan scored the first five points of the second half, pulling the team back within 12, before the teams traded six- and seven-point runs. Another five-point spurt from Curry made it 80-70 with 8:11 remaining before USF outscored Goshen 16-5 in the next four minutes to thwart any comeback chance.
Curry finished with 33 points to lead all scorers, followed by Bowers with 22 before the first Cougar, McKeeman with 18. Curry finished the day with 1,028 career points, of which 286 came in his first two seasons at Ohio Dominican and the remaining 742 have come at Goshen.
Branagan scored 15 points and Ryan Mansbarger 10. USF put five players in double figures in addition to getting 7 assists from Jalan Mull and 6 from David Ejah.
The Cougars outrebounded the Maple Leafs 35-25 with Jeffrey Reynolds grabbing a game-high 9 boards. Curry and Mansbarger, who played 36 and 37 minutes respectively, each had 6.
Bowers and USF's Brayton Bailey led all players with 3 steals apiece.
Goshen is back in action Wednesday at Taylor in a rare doubleheader, which was precipitated by final exam schedules when the teams met in November. Because of the women's game at 5 p.m. and the need to sanitize the gym between games, the men's contest will not start until 8 p.m.
