Men’s Basketball Unable to Ground Blue Jays in 82-70 Defeat to E-Town

Box Score

TOWSON, Md. - Sophomore guard Dwayne Morton (Waynesville, Mo.) of the Goucher College men's basketball team matched a career-high scoring 21 points, but it wasn't enough, as visiting Elizabethtown used an early second-half rally to pull away from the Gophers, 82-70, on Saturday in Landmark Conference action at the Decker Sports & Recreation Center.

With the loss, Goucher dropped to 0-16 overall and 0-6 in the Landmark Conference, while Elizabethtown improved to 4-12 and 0-5 in the Landmark with the victory.

In the opening frame of the contest, both teams came out hot to start, as the game remained a nip and tuck affair from the opening tap. 

The largest lead E-Town had the whole first half was just five points (on five separate occasions), as a quick 5-0 run but the Gophers tied the game up at 30-30 with 6:35 to go in the half.

After the Blue Jays took the lead back with a three, back-to-back baskets gave the Gophers a 34-33 lead with 4:06 left in the first half. For the next few minutes, the lead swung back and forth, with Goucher going ahead again, 40-39, with 1:50 to go in the period.

But, E-Town ended the half with the last basket, a three-pointer that gave them a 42-40 lead into intermission. 

To start the second half, E-Town held a slim 44-42 lead over the Gophers, but a back-breaking 13-4 run by Elizabethtown over a five-minute span gave the Blue Jays their biggest lead of the day at 57-46 with 13:55 to go in regulation. 

The deficit proved to be insurmountable for Goucher to come back from the rest of the game, as the closest the Gophers came to the E-Town lead the rest of the game was seven points (72-65) with four minutes left. Here, the Blue Jays put Goucher away with a 6-0 run, going up 78-65 with 1:37 left.

Overall on the day, Morton matched his career high set in Goucher's first game of the season against Wilson on Nov. 15 in the defeat with his 21 point effort.

Elsewhere, senior Elliott Wiley (Baltimore, Md.) once again went into double-figures in a game, finishing with 16 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks. For Wiley, it marked the eighth straight game since returning to the Goucher line-up that he had scored in double-figures.

Rounding out the top performers on the day for Goucher was first-year forward Jacob Smith (Callaway, Va.), who ended with nine points, 10 rebounds and four assists.

Elizabethtown was led in the win by Bryce Greene, who finished with 27 points.

The Goucher College men's basketball team returns to action on Wednesday, as they host Moravian in a Landmark Conference contest inside the Decker Sports & Recreation Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

--GOPHERS--