The end of the season in the Mid-Central Collegiate Conference was a bittersweet one for the Goshen Maple Leafs (18-13, 8-10), who fell to No. 10 indiana Wesleyan (21-10, 12-6) twice in five days.
Wednesday night, Wildcat guard Jordan Weidner, a sophomore, led all scorers with 29 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor. Despite Goshen’s 35-34 halftime lead, iWU prevailed 74- 66 in MCC quarterfinal action.Mathew Martin, a junior, and Kody Chandler, a first-year, led Goshen’s balanced attack with 14 points apiece. Martin contributed seven rebounds for the Maple Leafs, while Geoffry Gilot, a senior, and Garner Small, a junior, each added six boards.
Saturday afternoon, indiana Wesleyan defeated Goshen 75- 74 in Gunden Gymnasium to set up the conference tournament rematch.
Wildcat center Patrick Hopkins, a junior, led all scorers with 19 points. Weidner was right behind him, chipping in 17. Chandler continued his hot streak, finishing with 16 points, while Sean Day, a junior, contributed 14 points in 20 minutes.
the loss was the Leafs’ third conference loss at Gunden Gymnasium this season, but they did still make the postseason. Goshen received the eighth seed in the MCC while indiana Wesleyan won a tiebreaker with Grace for first.
the Leafs also had Chandler and center Mike Betcher, a junior, recognized in end-of-season voting. Chandler was named to the All-MCC third team and the All-Newcomer team. Chandler’s conference average of 14.9 points per game was 11th- best in the MCC. With 9.7 points and 6.5 rebounds this season, Betcher was also selected to the All-Newcomer team. the 6’9” Schoolcraft High School product transferred from Kalamazoo Valley Community College.
