Solid Effort at Stripe Produces 78-75 Victory

Solid Effort at Stripe Produces 78-75 Victory

Jan. 12, 2008

TOWSON, Md. - Goucher has struggled at the free-throw line this season -- a .505 shooting percentage through the first 12 games. But the Gophers turned in a solid 19-of-23 performance at the charity stripe tonight, a huge factor in their 78-75 Landmark Conference victory over Drew.

The Gophers, who committed a season-low eight turnovers, went ahead to stay on their second possession of the second half when Darrin Boswell II (Philadelphia, PA/Joppatowne) landed a shot from three-point range to snap a 33-33 tie. They stretched their lead to as many as 12 points, but the Rangers (4-9, 1-2 Landmark) battled back and closed to within 72-69 on a lay-up by Joe Horvath with 1:23 left to play.

A tip-in by Tim Merritt (Pasadena, MD/Chesapeake) restored Goucher's advantage to five points, but the Gophers (4-9, 2-1 Landmark) still needed two free throws from Boswell and a pair by Miguel Negron (Bel Air, MD/Bel Air) in the final :24 to secure their fourth win of the season, all of which have been by five points or less.

Drew led by as many as seven points in the first half, but a lay-up by Marcus Cotton (Silver Spring, MD/Springbrook) just ahead of the buzzer provided Goucher with a 33-31 lead at halftime. A lay-up by Dave Pepperman on the Rangers' first possession of the second half knotted the score at 33-33, the seventh tie of the contest.

Goucher's top two scorers were reserves Cameron Brown (Baltimore, MD/Owings Mills) and Negron with 15 and 13 points, respectively. Two starters also turned in double-digit scoring performances: Pat Bailey (Rockville, MD/Magruder) knocked down 12 points and  Cotton finished with 11 points.

Drew's Chris Lopez led all scorers as he tallied 23 points.

This was the first meeting between Goucher and Drew in the sport of men's basketball.