Balanced Effort Pushes Gophers Past Scranton

TOWSON, Md. - Four players finished in double figures led by Jacob Morgan's 13 points as the Goucher College men's basketball team led nearly the entire way in a 64-52 Landmark Conference victory over the University of Scranton Saturday afternoon at the Decker Sports and Recreation Center. It marked the second straight win for the Gophers.

• Scranton (4-15, 2-10 Landmark) took its lone lead of the game, 6-5, just over four minutes in.
• A 9-2 run capped by a Darnell Morris Jr. three at the 11:43 mark put Goucher (7-12, 5-7) on top 14-8.
• The Royals stayed within striking distance and a three with 4:40 left before halftime tied the game 22-22.
• Five straight points capped by a conventional three-point play by Morgan made it 27-22 with 3:26 on the clock.
• Goucher took a 30-24 lead with 81 seconds left on a Liech Kong basket and went into the locker room up 30-26.

• The Gophers pushed the lead to 10, 36-26, 1:34 into the second half on back-to-back baskets by Kong.
• A 7-1 Scranton run capped by a three-pointer pulled the guests within four, 41-37, just past the halfway point of the second half.
• Five straight points by Darrell Green made it a 46-37 game with 8:47 on the clock.
• The Royals whittled the lead down to four once again, 49-45, with just under five minutes to go.
• A Jaden Workman three from the right corner followed by two Morgan free throws pushed the lead back to nine with 3:26 left.
• A three-point play by Scranton got it down to six, 56-50, with 2:20 on the clock, but Onterio Miller was fouled shooting a three with 1:57 left and sank all three free throws.
• Miller had Goucher's final eight points to secure the win.

• Morgan finished with 13 points, going 8-8 at the free throw line, while matching his season high with eight rebounds.
• Miller finished with 12 points and four rebounds.
• Kong and Green added 11 points apiece, with Green going 2-4 behind the arc.  Kong grabbed eight rebounds and reached double figures for the sixth straight game.
• Morris knocked down three of his six three point attempts and added nine points off the bench.
• Goucher, which outrebounded the Royals 44-28, shot 36.7% overall, 9-23 behind the arc and 19-26 at the free throw line as it generated 17 more trips to the free throw line.
• Scranton was 5-9 at the stripe, shot 37.9% overall and was 3-18 from long range.
• Goucher completed a season sweep of Scranton for the first time in program history and won its third game against the Royals in 32 tries.
• The win combined with Elizabethtown's 76-66 loss at Susquehanna moved Goucher into sixth place in the conference standings.  With the Landmark expanding to 10 teams in 2023-24, six teams will qualify for the conference tournament.
• Goucher is 5-2 in its last seven home games.
• The Gophers' seven wins are their most since the 2015-16 season.

• Goucher hits the road to face second place Susquehanna on Wednesday night in a 7 pm Landmark Conference contest.
• The Gophers return home on Wednesday, February 7 when they host Elizabethtown at 7 pm at the Decker Sports and Recreation Center.