The Goshen Eagles used a balanced offensive effort to down the Highland Home Flying Squadron 50-40 and advance to the championship game of the Goshen Holiday Tournament.

The Eagles started hot from the field, connecting on four of their first six shots to take a 10-5 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Qua Simmons sparked the Eagle offense in the second quarter by scoring seven of Goshen’s 17 points in the quarter. Zack Alford added a three-pointer, Stevie Rodgers scored two layups, and Deangelo Orum banked in a jump shot to round out the scoring for the Eagles.

The Eagles led 27-19 at the half.

The Flying Squadron made an 8-0 run in the second quarter to momentarily take a 34-32 lead. Zack Alford stopped the Goshen bleeding by nailing a three with less than a minute to go in the quarter to regain the lead for Goshen at 35-34 heading in to the fourth quarter.

Goshen dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring Highland Home 15-6 over the final quarter. Seven of the Eagles’ 15 points came from the charity stripe.

Quas Simmons led the way for Goshen with 16 points. Deangelo Orum netted nine points for the Eagles. Stevie Rodgers and Zack Alford added six points apiece.

Goshen coach Johnny Mitchell said he was proud of the way his team responded to Highland Home’s run in the third quarter. “We made a bucket to go up 11 points early in the third quarter,” Mitchell said. “Then we sort of fell in to a lull. We committed a few turnovers and missed a few shots. We let them get back in to the game. We have been talking about playing a full four quarters of basketball. We’re going to need to play four quarters to beat a bigger, undefeated Geneva team.”

With the win, Goshen advanced to the tournament championship game where they will play the Geneva Panthers. “It means a lot to the team to make the finals,” Mitchell said. “It’s the first time we’re hosting the tournament in the new gym, so it’s a big deal. At this point in the season, we’re really just happy that we’re playing well enough to win two games in a row. We take pride in winning at home, so everyone is excited. We’re going to be an underdog against Geneva. We’ll just try to load up our slingshot and take down Goliath.”