PREP BOYS BASKETBALL: Balanced effort propels Goshen past Fairfield

Nov. 27—BENTON — A key two-minute stretch ultimately proved to be the difference Saturday between Goshen and Fairfield in boys basketball action in Benton.

Goshen led 21-14 with 1:21 to go in the second quarter. From that point-on, the RedHawks closed the frame on an 8-0 run to take a 15-point lead into halftime.

That advantage quickly reached 18 less than 20 seconds into the third quarter courtesy of a '3' from senior Quinn Bechtel.

While the Falcons would rally to within four points, they could never fully overcome the deficit, as Goshen ultimately left with a 50-41 victory in the season opener for the RedHawks. It was the second game of the year for Fairfield, dropping them to 1-1.

"I thought our intensity was pretty good," said Goshen coach Michael Wohlford of the 11-0 run his team went on. "I thought guys were flying around, defensively; we pursued the ball strong. It helps when you make shots, but I thought we got good rhythm shots because we played really hard."

Fairfield coach Derek Hinen talked about the tough stretch his team endured through most of the second and early into the third quarter.

"We just couldn't find an identity, offensively," Hinen said. "We kind of figured some things out in the Wawasee game (Tuesday), and (Goshen) is well-coached and were able to take some things away that I thought we did well in our first game. We just didn't figure it out."

Once the RedHawks amassed their biggest lead of 18, the Falcons went to work chipping away at the deficit. They scored the next 10 points of the contest and ultimately closed the third quarter on a 13-3 run, giving Goshen a 35-27 lead going into the final frame.

Fairfield then pulled within four points on two separate occasions, once at 35-31 and the other 37-33. The latter of which came on a field goal from junior Tyson Frey, who led his team with 15 points.

"(Frey) showed that he can step out and shoot it," Hinen said. "I think we are just young and inexperienced and have to learn the ways how we can attack. I think we did some really good things; we also have some things to work on. ... I think (Frey) started to figure out down the stretch of how he can score against the guys that were bigger than him."

A key '3' from Goshen senior Noah Alford followed Frey's bucket. Junior Ryan Eldridge received a pass near the paint and immediately kicked it to Alford in the corner, who drilled the long-distance shot to extend his team's lead to seven at the time.

Alford finished with nine points, but none bigger than those three.

"The inside-out three to Noah Alford was big," Wohlford said. "And then, we were 10-of-12 at the (free throw) line down the stretch, which I think is a huge finish to a game. It shows the maturity of our players."

Goshen led 15-10 at the end of the first quarter. Neither team scored for nearly four-straight minutes of the second quarter, as it remained a 21-14 contest from the 5:16 mark until the RedHawks' late-half push.

Along with Frey's 15 points, Fairfield picked up six points each from Mitchell Miller and Seth Yoder, five from Noah Mast, four from Alex Hofer, three from Braxton Davis and two from Brooks Custer.

The Falcons are next in action this Friday at home against Prairie Heights in a Northeast Corner Conference contest.

"We just have to continue to find ways to score," Hinen said. "We don't have a go-to guy this year, so everybody has to pitch-in and take care of the ball. ... You can't win if you don't value the basketball, and we didn't value it much (Saturday). We kind of threw it around the yard a little bit."

Fairfield finished with 14 turnovers in the game.

For Goshen, Bechtel led the way with 16 points. Junior Gage Worthman had 11, Alford nine, senior Deecon Hill eight and two points each from Eldridge, Nate Pinarski and Lleyton Weddell.

"I told the guys before the game: I think all nine in our rotation right now will cause us to win a game at some point," Wohlford said. "I thought Noah Alford was kind of that guy (Saturday). A lot of guys played well, but he made some really big winning plays."

Goshen faces a stiff test in its next game, as it welcomes No. 1 (Class 3A) Mishawaka Marian to town Tuesday in the home opener for the RedHawks.

Austin Hough can be reached at austin.hough@goshennews.com or at 574-538-2360. Follow him on Twitter at @AustinHoughTGN.