Who were those Redskins at the “Big Blue Pit” in Kendallville on Saturday afternoon?

Goshen High School’s boys basketball team, searching for some spark, was blazing like a wildfire during a 71-54 con-conference triumph over the East Noble Knights.

The Redskins, simultaneously, ended their own four-game losing skid and snapped East Noble’s four-game winning streak.

Goshen emerged from a shooting slump by connecting on 58.7 per cent of its field goal tries overall. The Skins were 7-of-14 from 3-point land and 10-of-14 at the free-throw line.

The Redskins, 10-7, reached double digits in victories for the first time since 2003. They host Westview next Friday night and South Bend St. Joseph’s the following Tuesday.

GHS coach Brian Bechtel said, “We had a great start and that was huge. It enabled us to set the tone and hitting shots always helps. We got transition looks and combined all that offense with some solid defensive play.”

The Redskins were led by their top “go-to” guys, 6-2 junior Ethan Hussey and 6-1 senior Cam Snyder. Hussey had 21 points and seven rebounds, Snyder 20 and five. Snyder had six assists, Hussey three steals and three assists.

Pleasantly surprising as offensive contributors were 5-10 senior Jordan Short with 10 points and 5-9 junior Alex Aguilar nine. Short was a “Super Sub” while Aguilar got his first start.

Brad Sink, 6-1 senior reserve, was singled out by Bechtel for his work around the basket at both ends and 6-0 senior Ryan Bartley bravely played some valuable minutes while still recovering from the flu bug.

Josh Randall, 5-10 senior, hit a ‘3’ early in the game and 6-6 senior Nathan Stegelmann helped the Redskins win the board battle.

Also in the 10-player rotation were 6-1 junior Brock Bender and 6-4 sophomore Taylor Kolbus.

Both Snyder and Hussey hit ‘3s’ in the first minute of the game and the Redskins were off and running. Stegelmann scored on a rebound for an 8-2 score with 2:27 elapsed.

Randall hit his ‘3’ later in the quarter as Goshen took a 15-9 lead by the first stop.

Midway through the second stanza it was Snyder breaking the EN press for a layup, Bartley scoring underneath, Hussey on a steal and Snyder from the right corner for a stunning 33-16 Goshen lead with 3:47 until halftime.

The Redskins then hit a bit of a lull, not scoring again in the second period, and their lead dwindled to 38-31 with 5:46 remaining in the third quarter.

Hussey popped in a 10-footer, Sink drove the baseline to score, Snyder buried a ‘3’ from the left corner, Short banked in a 10-footer, Snyder drove the middle for an easy two and Hussey hit a 15-footer for a 50-35 Goshen command with 2:10 on the third-period clock.

East Noble never got within 11 during the fourth quarter when Hussey scored 10 points including 6-for-6 at the free-throw line.

“We took a day off Friday, just shooting some free throws and watching video,” said Bechtel. “I think that mental break helped refresh us.

“I was proud of all the guys who had to step into different roles due to all the injuries and sickness we have experienced lately.

“It just wasn’t the scoring by Alex Aguilar which made his game great. He put pressure on the East Noble guards and also took care of the ball.

“Brad Sink has to be mentioned. He wasn’t getting a lot of minutes early in the season, but is now playing with a lot of confidence.

“This game showed we have a good all-around team, but we still must cut down the turnovers. We did a little better in the second half with only three after having 10 in the first half.

“Our getting good shots was a result of some crisp passing. We were able to get East Noble out of its zone defense early, then did a good job attacking their man-to-man defense.”

The Knights got 18 points from 6-2 senior Kelby Probst, 13 by 6-4 junior Kevin Bloom and 12 from 6-3 senior Dominique Briggs.

Junior Varsity

Goshen’s JV improved to 16-1 by thumping the Knights, 52-34. Junior Andrew Bowers scored 18 points for GHS and Kolbus nine. Scott Landis had four assists, Andrew Litwiller and T.J. Wright both two steals.