Tomcats post come from behind win over Blueboys

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WOOSTER, Ohio – Reggie Goosby scored a team-best 15 points and Luke Kochka added 11 points in the second half to lead Thiel to a come from behind 56-45 win over Illinois College Monday on day two of the 51st annual "Mose" Hole/Wooster Kiwanis Classic, hosted by the College of Wooster.

With the win, Thiel improves to 4-4, while the Blueboys fall to 5-4 on the year.

The Tomcats never trailed again after a Charlie Thomas trey with 4:52 remaining in the contest put Thiel on top 46-44.

Thiel widened the margin when Goosby added a three-point play to push the lead to 49-44. From there, the Tomcats closed out the contest on a 7-1 run.

Illinois College was in front for most of the contest, as a Justin Smith free throw gave the Blueboys a 20-12 lead with 3:03 to play in the first half. The Tomcats closed out the opening stanza on an 8-0 run, keyed by a lay-up by sophomore guard Khari Bess that knotted the score at 20-20.

Thiel posted their first lead of the second half after six minutes of action, as Goosby netted a pair of free-throws to give the Tomcats a brief lead. A three-pointer by Illinois College's Zeke Light on the following possession gave the Blueboys a one-point advantage, but Thiel's Kochka answered with a three pointer of his own to put the Tomcats back on top, 32-30.

A 12-3 run by Illinois College over the next three minutes of play extended the Blueboys lead to seven, 42-35, with 8:47 to play. The Tomcats clawed back with an 11-2 run of their own, keyed by the three by Thomas.

Bess chipped in 11 points for Thiel and Eric Mallinger posted eight. Mallinger grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds for the Blue-and-Gold while Goosby was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field and 7-of-7 from the charity stripe.

Thiel is off until the next calendar year, which gets underway with a home Presidents' Athletic Conference game against Bethany College on Saturday, Jan. 4. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.