GOSHEN, Ind. - Fairytales are not written any more fantastic than what occurred Tuesday night at Goshen College's Recreation Fitness Center.

Kathy Andrews drove five hours from Canton (Ohio) to see her son, Maple Leaf senior guard Errick McCollum, play on her birthday. Yes, it was her birthday and yet she was the one traveling in the middle of winter for a basketball game.

What present did Errick reward her with? How about 24 points to break Goshen College's all-time scoring record?

Done.

While you're at it, throw in an 83-62 Maple Leafs win over NAIA DI #10 Saint Xavier University. The victory became Goshen's second in as many days over teams ranked nationally in the NAIA polls.

No problem.

Coming into the contest 23 points shy of Eric Walsh's ('06) program mark of 2,277, things started slowly for McCollum. The 6-foot, 1-inch guard missed his first seven field goals, but more importantly to McCollum and the Leafs was that they were hanging around early after an exhausting 77-66 upset of #19 Davenport University just last night.

A big reason was the play of the bench. In their third game in four days, head coach Gary Chupp was forced to go to his bench early and often and it paid off. Freshman post Austin Hefley came in less than two minutes into the contest and sparked an 8-0 Goshen run with five points as the Leafs went up 12-6 with 15:40 to play in the first half.

"It was obvious that we had really tired legs," Chupp explained. "We needed our bench to come up big and Hefley did a fantastic job lifting us in the first half."

The first half turned into a real physical battle and Saint Xavier wore the Leafs down as they chipped away at the lead. A Stan Mayfield 3-pointer with 7:52 to play in the half finally knotted the score at 19-19. McCollum was finally able to get on the scoreboard seconds later as he was fouled and converted a pair of free throws.

Both teams managed late first-half spurts, but they essentially balanced themselves out as the Maple Leafs took a narrow 37-34 advantage to the locker rooms. The teams combined to hit just 35% in the opening half, while 22 personal fouls were committed in the period.

"It was a hard game to keep the energy level up, especially early," Chupp explained. "I was disappointed we only took a three point lead into halftime as we gave away a lot of scoring chances in the first half."

As the second half began, McCollum still needed 16 points to break the record. More important on his mind, though, was finding a way to get the win. Early in the second half, the offensive struggles continued for both teams. Almost five minutes into the period only four points were scored total.

The game opened up, however, and Saint Xavier attempted to take control. They managed to trim the deficit to a single point on several occassions, but the Maple Leafs outside shooting heated up. Three-consecutive 3-pointers - by Casey Pratt, Nate West Jr., and Jeremy Pope - helped Goshen to 7-0 and 8-0 runs as they opened a 59-46 lead with 8:01 to play.

McCollum was also heating up. The senior made consecutive jumpers before making a few of his best and most important plays of the game without taking a shot. The Cougars were attempting to get back in the contest and had cut the lead to seven. McCollum became the distributor as he drove the lane and kicked out to open teammates. Junior Simon Szablicki and Pratt were on the receiving end and put an end to Saint Xavier's hopes with long 3-pointers.

With the game clearly in hand, things continued to open up for McCollum late. With 1:33 on the clock, he hit the back end of a pair of free throws to tie Walsh's mark. Just fifteen seconds later he was fouled again and went to the line to shoot two. His shot went up and got a friendly bounce from the home rim he knows so well to put his name atop the Maple Leafs scoring charts.

Chupp called a timeout, which allowed a standing crowd to acknowledge the accomplishments of both McCollum and Walsh as the game - already in hand - became just the backdrop. McCollum went on to hit the second free throw before being subbed out as he ended with 24 points on the night and 2,279 for his career, so far.

"I am so happy for Errick that he was able to reach this milestone at home," Chupp said. "Obviously, he is a great player, but he is also just a great kid. He deserves every accolade he gets and we hope we are able to do some special things this season to send him out the right way."

For starters, Goshen closed out the 82-63 win Tuesday night. It became the fourth NAIA Top 25 team the Maple Leafs have taken down this season and second in as many days.

"I was obviously pleased with the result, despite not playing our best," Chupp added. "We played solid enough defense in the second half to make up for some offensive mistakes."

McCollum was one of four Maple Leafs in double figures. Freshman Casey Pratt scored 11 off the bench, while West and Szablicki scored 10 each. West also registered his second-straight double-double with 13 rebounds. McCollum's high school teammate, West also sits just short of a milestone as he finished the night seven points shy of 1,000 for his career.

Goshen gets just one day off before heading back to the court. They face another team that has been a mainstay in the national polls in Cornerstone University. Tip off is set for 7:00 p.m. Thursday night in Grand Rapids (Mich.)