By STU SWARTZ
Tough defense led to easy points Tuesday night for the Goshen High School boys basketball Redskins.
Goshen got off to a blazing start in its season opener and was never threatened in rolling to a 63-41 victory at Mishawaka Marian.
Marian had nine turnovers in the first half and the Redskins took advantage, sprinting to an 18-8 lead at the first stop. It was 33-12 at halftime and a peak of 61-28 early in the fourth quarter.
Ethan Hussey, 6-2 junior, led the Redskins with 16 points and 6-1 senior Cam Snyder had 15.
Marshall Crawford, 6-2 junior, and 5-10 senior Josh Randall both contributed nine; 6-6 senior Nathan Stegelmann eight; 5-10 senior Jordan Short four; and 6-0 senior Ryan Bartley two.
Also helping the cause with solid minutes were 6-1 senior Brad Sink, 5-9 junior Alex Aguilar and 6-1 junior Brock Bender.
GHS coach Brian Bechtel said, “I was proud of our defensive effort. That’s what got us jump-started and kept us in tune for the entire game. The guys were in the right frame of mind.
“We wanted to get transition looks off our defense. Last year, the guys were too timid and afraid to make mistakes. Since our summer work, we have wanted them to look up the floor.
“Snyder and Hussey bring a confidence level to the floor that is contagious to the rest of the team.
“Marshall Crawford was a suprise in his first game for us. He plays hard and gives us good post defense.
“Jordan Short brings a lot of defensive intensity. I was also impressed how well he handled the ball and attacked the basket.”
Crawford hit two 3-pointers in the first 3:30 of the game in helping the Redskins take an 8-5 lead. Hussey also had a ‘3’ among his eight tallies in the opening frame.
Goshen scored 13 consecutive points over a five-minute stretch of the second period, pulling away to a 31-10 command. Snyder was 4-for-4 from the field during that run.
Snyder had seven more points in the third stanza and Hussey six while Randall bombed in a pair of 3-pointers. Randall added a third ‘3’ during the final quarter when Marian outscored the Redskins, 16-9.
The Redskins hit a shade over 50 per cent from the field overall and were 7-of-12 from 3-point land.
They had just six turnovers in the first three periods, then six in the fourth. Goshen won the rebound battle, 32-29, led by Stegelmann with eight and Hussey seven.
Marian coach Tim Barwick said, “We were like black and white, good late in the game and bad early.
“We found out the pace of the game was not what we expected. We just have to pick up our pace and focus more. Our poor play created a lot of opportunities for Goshen.
“A lot of our problems were what we didn’t do good. We are still trying to correct a lot of things at this point.
“We stood around a lot in the first half and didn’t use our size advantage until the second.”
Dylan Brammer, 5-6 senior, led Marian with 10 points and 6-5 senior Jeff Appleman tallied nine in relief.
Among Marian players is 5-6 senior Ben Stacker, son of 1975 Goshen High School graduate Ed Stacker who played for the Redskins during the Roger Tuggle coaching era.
Goshen now leads the series, 3-0. The Redskins won 77-70 in a 1969 regional semifinal at Elkhart and 72-58 in the 1977-78 Goshen holiday tournament.
The Redskins are back in action Saturday night against the Central Blue Blazers at North Side Gym in Elkhart.
Junior Varsity
The Goshen JV opened with a 47-25 win. Junior Andrew Bowers and sophomore Taylor Kolbus both scored 10 points, sophomore Jon Good seven, junior Scott Landis six, junior Alex Aguilar five, junior Brock Bender four, junior Mac Hussey three and sophomore Mike Ciesielski two.
