Morton Leads Five Goucher Men's Basketball Players In Double Figures In 79-67 Win Against Elizabethtown
ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – Dwayne Morton (Baltimore, Md./Waynesville [Mo.]) powered five Goucher College players in double figures with 18 points to propel the Gophers to a 79-67 victory against Elizabethtown College in Landmark Conference men's basketball action on Wednesday.
Along with Morton's 18 points, Ryan Conde (Ewing, N.J./Solebury Academy [Arcadia]) posted a career-high 14 points, Cam Isaacs (Randallstown, Md./Randallstown) registered 13 points while Darrell Collins (Baltimore, Md./New Town) and Josh Lichti (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) each tallied 12 points in the winning effort. It was the second time this season Goucher has had five players reach double figures and the first since the season-opener at Valley Forge on November 8.
Morton shot 7-for-13 from the floor, 1 of 4 from behind the arc and 3 of 3 from the free throw line for his 18 points while he added seven rebounds and three assists. The senior has scored double figures in five-straight games and is averaging 16.4 points per game in that span. He has posted double digits in 16 of 21 games this season and has 51 contests with 10+ points in his career.
Conde made the most of his first collegiate start, connecting on 4 of 6 from the floor, 1 of 2 from behind the arc and 5 of 9 from the free throw line to notch his first career double-figure point game with 14 points.
Isaacs reached double figures for the 11th time in 14 road games, the 14th time this season and the 24th time in his career. The sophomore recorded eight rebounds and four assists on the night. The four helpers moves him over the 100 mark for his career and now stands at 102 assists.
Collins was 4-for-7 from the floor, 3 of 4 from behind the arc and 1 of 3 from the charity stripe for his fifth 10+ game in his last 11 contests. Lichti also had a good shooting night after connecting on 5-for-8 from the field and 2 of 3 from 3-point land for his third double-figure performance and first since he registered a career-high against Christendom on November 19. Lichti also matched his career best of seven rebounds for the fourth time in his freshman campaign.
Trailing 3-1, Isaacs started a 21-5 run and give the Gophers the lead for good on a triple at 18:15 and help Goucher grab a 22-8 advantage. All five players that ended in double figures contributed to the run with Lichti fueling the run with six points while Isaacs and Morton each posted five points in the first nine minutes of the game.
The Blue Jays scored the next seven points to cut the margin to 22-15 with 9:14 left in the first half only to see Morton spark an 8-0 run with four points for a 30-15 margin with 5:37 remaining. Elizabethtown went on a mini run to trim the margin to 36-26 going into the locker room.
The Blue Jays made another run to cut the lead to 42-37 in the first four minutes of the second half. Conde and Collins registered the next six points to regain a double-figure lead at 48-37 with 13:26 left. Elizabethtown made a run to cut the deficit to 72-66 with 1:22 on the clock, but Conde, Isaacs, Morton and Pat Goralski (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake) made 7 of 8 free throws to seal the 79-67 win.
Goralski finished the game with eight points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. The senior notched his 300th rebound and 100th assist and will go into Senior Day on Saturday needing 11 points for 500 in his career.
The Gophers have posted four of their five wins on the road and are 3-3 in the state of Pennsylvania.
Goucher returns to action on Saturday for Senior Day against Moravian College. Game time is 4 p.m. Prior to the game, the team will honor seniors Goralski and Morton.