Gophers Take Down Elizabethtown in Key Landmark Battle

TOWSON, Md. - Goucher College placed five players in double figures led by Onterio Miller's 18 points as the Gophers took down Elizabethtown College 87-78 in Landmark Conference men's basketball Wednesday evening at the Decker Sports and Recreation Center.  The Gophers move into sole possession of sixth place in the conference standings after the two teams entered the night tied for the final conference playoff spot.

• Goucher (8-14, 6-9 Landmark) held Elizabethtown (8-14, 5-10) without a field goal for the first nearly six minutes as it opened an early 9-3 lead.
• The Gophers used an 8-2 spurt capped by a Can Dalli three-pointer to take a 23-16 lead with 8:32 remaining in the opening half.
• Etown chipped away and got the lead down to two, 28-26, with 4:19 to go.
• Goucher rattled off an 8-1 run capped by a conventional three-point play by Brandon Joseph with 3:03 on the clock to extend the lead to nine, 36-27.
• The hosts led 39-29 with a minute to go and took a 41-34 lead into intermission.

• The Blue Jays outscored Goucher 9-2 over the first four minutes of the second half to pull within one, 44-43.
• A Jacob Morgan three-point play with 14:27 left put the lead back to five, 49-44.
• Etown embarked on a 9-2 run and took its lone lead of the game, 53-51, with 12:39 to go.
• After a Goucher timeout, a Joseph layup and a Dalli basket put the hosts back in front, 55-53, with 11:27 left.
• The Gophers extended the lead to eight, 61-53, as a Miller basket with 9:08 to go capped a 10-0 run.
• After being down 10 twice, five straight Blue Jay points made it a 68-63 game with just under six minutes remaining.
• Elizabethtown got the lead down to four twice, but back-to-back Miller threes around a Blue Jay basket made it 79-71 with 2:34 on the clock.
• Goucher made five free throws in the final minute to secure the win.

• Miller finished 6-10 from the floor, including 3-6 behind the arc, and 3-3 at the free throw line.  His 18 points are a season high and one shy of his career high of 19 set last season.
• Morgan tallied 14 points, grabbed eight rebounds and added six assists and three steals.  The sophomore reached double figures in scoring for the sixth straight game.
• Joseph was 5-7 from the floor and added a season-high 12 points and four rebounds, finishing two points shy of his career high.
• Dalli knocked down three three pointers and notched 12 points and hauled in four rebounds.
• Jaden Workman was the fifth Gopher in double figures with 10 points.
• Darrell Green notched nine points and seven rebonds, while Darnell Morris Jr. chipped in with eight markers off the bench.
• Goucher shot 50% (30-60) from the floor, was 8-17 (47%) from long range and 19-27 at the free throw line. The Gophers were 5-9 behind the arc in the second half.
• Etown shot 44.4% on the night, was 6-24 from behind the arc and 16-21 at the free throw line.  The Blue Jays placed four in double figures led by Rance Russo's 16 points.
• The Gophers outrebounded the guests 41-32 on the evening, including 12-8 on the offensive glass.
• Goucher sits in the sixth and final tournament spot in the Landmark standings, a game in front of Elizabethtown and two ahead of Lycoming and Moravian with three games to play.

• Goucher plays its final home game of the season Saturday, hosting Juniata in a 4 pm tilt at the Decker SRC.