PREP BOYS BASKETBALL: Worthman paces Goshen past Elkhart

Dec. 7—GOSHEN — Whatever offensive funk Gage Worthman was in coming into Tuesday, he surely got out of it against Elkhart.

The Goshen junior scored a game-high 17 points — while also hauling in seven rebounds and dishing out three assists — as the RedHawks topped the Lions, 56-46, at Interra Gym.

After shooting 40% from the field in his sophomore campaign, Worthman started this season just 8-of-27 (30%) on shot attempts. On Tuesday, he was 6-of-11 shooting, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range.

"Gage was going to start making shots," Goshen coach Michael Wohlford said. "We tweaked his release a little bit. As a shooter, sometimes you're in a position where you've missed a couple and you press a little bit. We knew he'd start making them; he's a great shooter. He's going to have a really great season for us."

Worthman's most memorable play of the game didn't come off a shot of his, rather a pass. After the RedHawks forced a turnover, an outlet pass was sent up-court to Worthman. The junior then instinctually no-look passed it behind his back to a wide open Deecon Hill, who made a layup to push his team's lead to 12 midway through the fourth quarter.

"That was SportsCenter Top 10 stuff," said Wohlford of the Worthman pass.

Two of Worthman's three's from beyond the arc helped give Goshen (3-1) a lead it would never relinquish. His back-to-back 3-pointers — sandwiched around a block from senior Lleyton Weddell on the defensive end — gave the home team a 15-9 lead, forcing Elkhart to call timeout.

Though the Lions never led in the game again, they never were fully out of it as well. They closed the first quarter on a 5-0 run, cutting the deficit to one through eight minutes of play.

Elkhart (0-5) then tied the game at 17 following a made free throw from Tumarye Morris early in the second quarter. The junior led the Elkhart offense with 15 points on the night.

From that point-on, however, Goshen maintained control of the game. The lead reached as many as seven in the second quarter before settling on six, 31-25, at halftime.

It remained a single-digit lead throughout the third quarter, reaching as little as two following an old fashioned three-point play from Elkhart senior Jacob Windy, making it a 36-34 Goshen advantage with 4:13 remaining in the period.

A 10-2 RedHawk run from there — punctuated by a buzzer-beating shot from senior Quinn Bechtel — would give Goshen its first double-digit lead of the night, 46-36, at the end of the third quarter.

The lead reached as high as 13 for the RedHawks in the final frame before settling on a 10-point win.

"We played well for about three and a quarter-ish quarters, and then they just closed it out better in the fourth," Elkhart coach Kyle Sears said. "We just have to keep building off that."

Another big factor for Goshen's success Tuesday was its ability to rebound, specifically on the offensive glass. The RedHawks had 17 offensive rebounds, including seven from junior Ryan Eldridge alone. Goshen had 31 total rebounds in the game, while Elkhart had 24.

"(Elkhart) was in a zone defense, so it's difficult to match up," said Wohlford of what was a key for the rebounding advantage his team had. "After a while, I felt like our guys really imposed their will there."

While Morris led the Lions in scoring, a freshman off the bench had a big impact as well in Mickey Gilbert. Listed on the junior varsity roster, Gilbert ended up being the team's second-leading scorer in the varsity game with 10 points.

"He stepped up in the moment, and you have to give him credit for that," said Sears of Gilbert. "It's stuff he's prepared for. He's shown us in practice and in JV games, and it was one of those things where the coaches decided this might give us a good opportunity. He's taken advantage of it."

After playing its first five games on the road, Elkhart finally has its home opener Friday when they welcome South Bend Adams to North Side Gym.

"Honestly, it's going to be weird," joked Sears about finally having their first home game. "We get to do it for two games, and then we're on the road for three more. So, eight of our first 10 are on the road. ... Hopefully we'll feed off (the home crowd) and it'll be nice to not have to get on a bus and have to travel."

Goshen's next game is on the road, as they head to South Bend St. Joseph for a Saturday afternoon contest. Varsity tip-off there is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.

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