By Michael Shipma

The Goshen High School boys basketball team dominated in every aspect of the game as it raced out to a 78-30 home victory over Highland Home on Friday.

Solid defense led to points on offense for the Eagles (1-0, 0-0 2A Area 5), as they forced turnover after turnover from the visiting Flying Squadron (0-1, 0-0 2A Area 6).

“Overall, this was a good win for us,” said Goshen head coach Ethan Carroll after the game. “We have some things that we need to work on, but it’s good to see our guys’ efforts pay off.”

From the opening tip, Goshen played with a tangible energy and poise that served them well the entire game. Up and down the Eagles’ young roster, players were diving for loose balls, creating ball movement and crashing the offensive as well as defensive boards in their lopsided win.

By the 5:49 mark of the first quarter, the home team had already raced out to an 11-1 lead behind solid play from sophomore guard Michael Hollis and sophomore guard Zack Alford, who combined for 22 points in the game. Between their leadership at the guard positions and the Eagles’ overall size advantage, Goshen was able to put on a scoring clinic in its season opener on its own court.

Highland Home stood its own in transition in the first half, but were eventually worn out by the Eagles and their up-tempo style of play. In nearly every aspect of the matchup, Highland Home had no answer for Goshen, and because of it, Goshen took a commanding, 44-11 lead going into halftime.

“The biggest thing we preached at halftime was expectations,” Carroll said. “We played flat at times and got complacent. We’re young, and sometimes it’s easy to look at the scoreboard and play down.”

The Eagles continued to extend their lead in the third quarter, using excellent ball movement to get their big men easy baskets in the paint. Sophomore center Caleb Mahone had a good outing for Goshen, tallying 11 points, 10 of which were off of layups. Alongside him down low was sophomore forward Iyan Hinkle, who had 12.

The Flying Squadron were able to generate some offense in the third, but were still outscored 17-13 in the period, making the score 61-24 going into the final eight minutes of play. Goshen rode its lead out the rest of the way, and thanks to more production from its post players, the Eagles secured their first win of the season.

Goshen returns to action this Monday when they travel to take on Samson in the Wicksburg Thanksgiving Tournament. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.