Goralski, Isaacs And Morton Combine For 75 Points To Give Seniors Memorable Home Sendoff In 86-70 Win Against Catholic

BALTIMORE, Md. – Pat Goralski (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake) and Dwayne Morton (Baltimore, Md./Waynesville [Mo.]) each scored 20 points in their last game at the Decker Sports and Recreation Center while Cam Isaacs (Randallstown, Md./Randallstown) registered 21 second-half points to make sure the two seniors won their final home game. Goucher College defeated Catholic University of America 86-70 in Landmark Conference men's basketball action on Wednesday.

After scoring six points in the first half, Isaacs went 5-for-8 from the floor, 3 of 5 from behind the arc and 8-for-8 from the free throw line to eclipse his career-high in 18 minutes of action on Wednesday. Isaac recorded 17 points in the final 11:12 of the game including giving the Gophers the lead for good at the free throw line with 11:12 left. The sophomore also had two defining baskets as the shot clock was getting ready to go off when he hit a jumper at 4:24 and a 3-point heave in the waning moments of the game to put an exclamation point on the victory.

Isaacs finished the game with a career-high 27 points after shooting 7-for-12 from the field, 3 of 5 from behind the arc and a perfect 10-for-10 from the charity stripe. Its the sophomore second career 20-point game and first since he posted 20 points against Ogelthorpe on December 20. It was his 15th double-figure point performance this season and 25th of his career.

Morton narrowly had his first career double-double before head coach Tom Rose called a substitution timeout to give Morton and Goraski a chance to be honored by the Decker faithful with 43 seconds left. The senior registered 25 points and nine rebounds and did most of his damage from 3-point land after hitting 7 of 9 on treys and 5 of 5 from the free throw line. With his 25 points, Morton became the ninth player to score 1,100 points in his career while he notched his 11th career 20-point performance of his career and 53rd game with at least 10 points.

Goralski finished three points shy of his career-best performance, finishing with 23 points and nine rebounds narrowly missing his sixth career double-double. The senior  went 9-for-11 from the floor and 5-for-5 on freebies for his second career 20-point performance. Goralski, who had a career-best 26 points against Cairn on December 30, joined the 500-point club and currently stands at 510 points, 312 rebounds and 106 assists in his three years in Baltimore. He has 22 double-figure point games in his career.  

For the second-straight year, the home game against Catholic was the most exciting game of the season. This time, the Gophers did not need a Timmy O'Farrell (Davidsonville, Md./Archbishop Spalding) 3-pointer at the regulation buzzer to help Goucher take an 82-80 win in overtime.

This time the answer came in what could be a law firm of Goralski Isaacs Morton. The trio scored 75 of the team's 86 points in the game including 40 of the 47 points in the second half.

Issacs gave the Gophers the lead for good on two free throws with 11:12 remaining. Goralski then completed a traditional 3-point play before Isaacs drained a jumper with 10:11 remaining for a 61-55 lead.

Catholic cut the margin to 65-64 with 8:05 on the clock before Isaacs nailed a triple at 7:39. After Ryan Conde (Ewing, Md./Solebury School) made a free throw, Morton drilled a trey at 6:25 for a 72-64 advantage.

Isaacs hit a key jumper as the shot clock was expiring at 4:24 and Morton answered a Cardinals jumper with a triple at the 2:12 mark to extend Goucher's margin to 77-69. Isaacs then scored nine of the final 10 points after going 6 of 6 at the charity stripe before again beating the shot clock with a 3-pointer with eight seconds left to complete the 86-70 win.

The first half was a seesaw battle before Morton went on a 6-0 run after hitting two treys to give the Baltimore program a 32-25 lead. Isaacs hit a couple of jumpers to maintain the five-point edge, but with Goucher leading 38-33 Catholic closed the half on an 8-1 run to go into the locker room with a 41-39 lead.

The Gophers grabbed a 48-43 lead after a Conde free throw with 15:54 left only to see the Cardinals score the next eight points to take a 51-48 edge with 12:52 remaining. Goralski answered with a tradition 3-point play and Morton gave the hosts a 54-53 lead on a triple at 11:37. Catholic took the lead one more time before Isaacs took over the game to help Goucher to the win.

Conde had eight points, three steals, three rebounds and two assists.

Goucher returns to action when it closes out the regular season at the University of Scranton. Game time is 2 p.m.