Goralski And Morton Finish Their Collegiate Careers With Loss At Scranton
SCRANTON, Pa. – Pat Goralski (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake) and Dwayne Morton (Baltimore, Md./Waynesville [Mo.]) played in their final collegiate contest for Goucher College in a Landmark Conference men's basketball loss at the University of Scranton on Saturday.
Morton stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block in 35 minutes of play. The senior finishes his career with 1,119 points to finish in ninth place and one point shy of eighth place on the program's all-time career points list. Morton also finished with 341 rebounds, 180 assists, 105 steals and seven blocks. He had 54 games in double figures in points with eight 20-point performances and three 30-point games including a career-high 37 points against Cairn on December 30.
Goralski registered eight points, five rebounds and an assist in his final game of his three-year career in Baltimore. Goralski finishes his career with 518 points, 317 rebounds, 107 assists, 57 steals and 33 blocks. He posted career-bests in points (263), rebounds (153), assists (64) and steals (27) in his senior campaign. The senior finishes his career with 22 double-digit point games including two 20-point performances and five double-doubles. Goralski posted a career-high 26 points against Cairn and a personal-best 14 rebounds against Johnson & Wales on November 16.
Goralski, Morton and Cam Isaacs (Randallstown, Md./Randallstown) could not repeat the magic the trio recorded in its final home game against Catholic on Wednesday. Goralski (23 points), Mortion (25 points) and Isaacs (career-high 27 points) combined for 75 points in an 86-70 win against Catholic University of America to give Goralski and Morton a win in their final game at the Decker Sports and Recreation Center.
Isaacs scored a team-high 16 points against the Royals thanks to a 7-for-10 shooting performance from the floor and 2 of 4 from behind the arc for his 11 road game with double figures in 13 games. The sophomore finishes with 16 games in double digits for points and 26 in his career. He also had five or more rebounds in five-straight contests, 8 of 11 and 11 times in 2019-20. Isaacs, who ranked second on the team with 11.6 points per game, will be the top returning player next season with Goralski and Morton graduating.
Ryan Conde (Ewing, N.J./Solebury School [Arcadia]) registered eight points or more in five of the nine games he played after joining Goucher for the second semester. He posted 11 points, three rebounds and three steals in the game on Saturday. It was his second 10+ game of the season after he posted 14 points against Elizabethtown on February 12.
Josh Lichti (Harrisionburg, Va./Harrisonburg) got the scoring started in the game with a jumper at 19:38 to give the Gophers an early 2-0 lead before Goralski nailed a jumper at 18:10 for a four-point edge.
After Scranton scored the next seven points, Morton nailed a trey at 15:30 to tie the at 7 and Isaacs gave Goucher its second lead of the day at 9-7 with a jumper at 14:17. Goralski gave the Gophers a 11-9 edge at 13:29 after the Royals tied the game and Morton scored in the lane to give Goucher its second four-point advantage at 12:49.
Scranton tied the game at 13, but Isaacs handed Goucher its third lead of the day on a 3-ball at 9:36. Isaacs then made a jumper at 9:03 to stake the Gophers to its third four-point lead at 18-14. Conde then made three free throws to extend the advantage to 21-16 with 7:27 on the clock.
The Royals then scored the next 19 points and 23 of the final 31 points to go into the locker room with a 39-29 advantage.
Goralski and Morton scored consecutive baskets in the second half to trim the margin to 41-35 with 17:54 left and after a Scranton basket Morton drained a triple at 17:19 to make it a five-point game. Darrell Collins (Baltimore, Md./New Town), who had six points on the day, converted a traditional 3-point play with 15:47 remaining to cut the margin to 45-41.
The Baltimore team cut the margin to four again after a Conde layup with 8:42 and again after a Morton kiss off the glass at 8:14 to trim the deficit to 63-59. Scranton then closed the game on an 18-4 run to earn the 81-63 victory.
Goucher finished the season with its most overall and conference wins since 2015-16. The Gophers also had three conference games that they battled teams that will playing in the Landmark Conference Tournament tough and were in position to possibly win. The team will miss Goralski and Morton, but both seniors said that they wanted to leave the program better than it was when they arrived and both believe that the team has accomplished that feat.