GOSHEN – In a high-scoring shootout, Wilmington outlasted Goshen 82-72 Saturday afternoon in a SBAAC American Division contest the Warriors gym.
The win is Wilmington’s eighth in a row and clinches a share of the American Division championship. The Hurricane is 7-0 in the division. Goshen is 3-3 and currently stands second in the division.
Wilmington is 12-4 overall, after a 4-4 start to the year. The Hurricane defeated New Richmond on the road Friday night.
“To play back to back road games in the conference in less than 24 hours, to win in the fashion that we won was a real credit to our kids,” WHS coach Michael Noszka said. “Just overall, I was pleased with the amount of commitment this senior group has, the players have.”
Goshen is 10-6.
The 82 points is a single-game high this season for the Hurricane.
The 72 points by the Warriors is third most allowed by Wilmington this season, behind 82 by Campbell Co. (Ky.) in the first game and 73 by Moeller in the sixth game. Wilmington is surrendering an average of 48 points per game in the league.
“It was the pace of the game,” Noszka said of the high-scoring contest. “We’re scoring so quickly, so there’s more possessions in the game. There also was a lot of fouls called.”
There were times in the game when play was a bit chippy.
“When everyone around you is losing their heads, you need to keep yours,” Noszka said to his team after the game. “In the last two minutes, we lost our head, we missed assignments, we missed foul shots. Those are things we have been doing well the rest of the season.”
Jeffery Mansfield and Matthew Smith formed a lethal 1-2 scoring punch for the Hurricane, combining for 65 points. Mansfield led the way with 28 while Smith scored 27.
After trailing 17-16 in the first quarter, Wilmington took the lead with Smith netting 11 in the second period. WHS had a 39-32 lead at halftime.
Both Smith and Mansfield had eight points each in the third as the Hurricane continued its offensive onslaught of the Warriors defense. WHS held a 60-48 lead going to the final period.
In the fourth, Mansfield had 12 points. He was 8 for 12 at the free throw line. WHS was 12 for 16 as a team in the fourth after attempting just one free throw the first three quarter.
“This group here, we talk about it all the time, if they play really really well, they can beat anybody,” said Noszka. “At the same time, anybody can beat us. That’s where I give these kids credit. One thing we have done all year long in these 16 games is play hard. We have had a consistent effort every night. This group just does a good job of understanding who they are and what they have to do.”
SUMMARY
February 3 2018
@Goshen High School
Wilmington 82 Goshen 72
W 16.23.21.22…..82
G 17.15.16.24…..72
(82) WILMINGTON (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Morris 2-0-0-4 Gauche 1-0-2-4 Griffith 6-0-2-14 Smith 11-5-0-27 Mansfield 10-0-8-28 Coomer 1-1-0-3 Jacobyansky 1-0-0-2 Taylor 0-0-0-0. TOTALS 32-6-12-82
(72) GOSHEN (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Moors 6-4-1-17 Kollmorgen 8-2-2-20 Bailey 5-1-6-17 Proffitt 3-0-4-10 Harrison 3-1-1-8 Hill 0-0-0-0 Slusher 0-0-0-0 Dato 0-0-0-0. TOTALS 25-8-14-72
