Gophers Cool Off, Allow Eagles to Overtake Them

Gladden Makes All 12 Shots, Concludes Game with 32 Points

TOWSON, Md. — Despite career-high totals of 32 points and 15 rebounds by sophomore forward Kyle Gladden (Baltimore, Md./Landsdowne), Goucher came up short against Maryland Bible tonight in the Decker Sports & Recreation Center. The Eagles overcame a 17-point deficit at halftime by shooting 57.1 percent from the field over the final 20 minutes to secure an 82-79 victory over the Gophers.

The Gophers (1-3) led by as many as 18 points in the first half as they shot at a 58.1 percent success rate (18-for-31). Gladden made all seven of his shots in the opening 20 minutes and had 19 points by the time the two teams departed the court at the break with Goucher up 46-29.

Although Gladden stayed hot in the second half, knocking down all five of the shots he attempted to become the first player in the history of Goucher's men's basketball program to take at least 10 shots in a game and finish with a 1.000 shooting percentage, the rest of the Gophers cooled off to the tune of 6-for-26 (.230).

The Eagles (4-5) went ahead for the first time since the opening 3:33 of the contest when a layup by Kevin Taylor made the score 66-65 with 7:38 remaining. The lead changed hands eight more times the rest of the way. Two free throws by Shane Yambor (Burtonsville, Md./Paint Branch) put the Gophers ahead 77-76 with 2:23 left to play, but just :08 later, a layup by Terry Hosley put Maryland Bible back in front to stay.

Hosley and Taylor did the bulk of the scoring for the Eagles, contributing 29 and 20 points, respectively, to the victory. Taylor matched Gladden's efforts on the boards by grabbing 15 rebounds.

The only other double-digit scorer for Goucher was Yambor, who finished with 15 points.

This was only the fourth all-time meeting between the two schools in the sport of men's basketball and it was the Eagles' first victory in the series.