The Goshen Eagles watched a five-point halftime lead slip away in the middle of the third quarter, and never could catch up down the stretch.

Mobile Christian got hot in the second half to down the Eagles 56-52 Saturday in Goshen.

The Leopards outscored Goshen 17-8 in the third quarter, and got a pair of threes from Michael Hunter to open the fourth quarter.

“We shot the ball well and executed well early, and they did the same in the second half,” Goshen head coach Johnny Mitchell said. “After the first quarter, we had a really hard time scoring for whatever reason. They got hot and made some shots late that kept them out front.”

Stevie Rodgers led the scoring for the Eagles, dropping in 13.

Rodgers, a senior guard, is developing every game, per Mitchell.

“Stevie is a very important player for us,” Mitchell said. “Stevie does everything we ask him to do, and he will do whatever it takes to get better. He works extremely hard, and is a very good character kid.”

With the loss, Goshen falls to 5-8 on the season, but Mitchell isn’t hanging his head.

“We are grinding it out right now,” Mitchell said. “We aren’t the best shooting team and not the biggest team. We have to win games with hustle points and sound execution. We have seen where we stack up against some of the best, and we have to get to work during area play.”

Goshen returns to action Tuesday against Highland Home.