Grace’s Furious Rally Not Enough
November 22, 2020 at 10:53 p.m.
Grace’s Furious Rally Not Enough
By Josh Neuhart-
Saturday’s game was the Crossroads League opener for both sides, and the hot-shooting Trojans (3-2, 1-0 CL) came out on top.
The first half started with an offensive barrage as the teams combined to score 15 points in the first three minutes.
The Trojans’ offense was fueled from beyond the arc in the early stages, helping Taylor gain an early advantage.
Taylor went 5 of 5 from the 3-point line across the first 7:30 of the contest; the Trojans pulled ahead by nine points and never trailed the rest of the game.
Grace fell behind by as many as 13 points late in the half, but a buzzer-beating triple from Jakob Gibbs helped trim Grace’s deficit to 48-39 by halftime.
Taylor shot 55 percent from the floor and 60 percent from downtown (6 of 10). Grace also shot well from the 3-point line (4 of 5), but the Lancers made only 44 percent of their field goals overall.
Grace showed more energy to start the second half and quickly caught up to the Trojans. The Lancers went on an 11-4 run after halftime to trail by two at 52-50.
Matt Jennings scored seven points during Grace’s spurt, and Frankie Davidson scored the other four points.
But as soon as the Lancers (4-2, 0-1 CL) showed life, Taylor responded. The Trojans unleashed a 13-2 charge to reassert a double-digit cushion with 12 minutes to play.
Grace struggled to penetrate Taylor’s lead and faced a 14-point deficit with 2:35 left in regulation.
But the Lancers threw caution to the wind in the final minutes, mounting a furious comeback which they nearly completed.
Grace pressured Taylor, forcing the Trojans into a number of miscues. Cade Gibbs and Jakob Gibbs combined to score eight quick points to spark a 13-2 run.
A pair of free throws from Eddie Gill IV cut Taylor’s lead down to 89-86 with 20 seconds remaining.
A strong trap on the next play resulted in an offensive foul by Taylor, giving Grace the ball with 10 seconds remaining and a chance to tie the score.
But the Lancers misfired on a potential game-tying triple, and Taylor iced the win with two free throws.
Taylor shot 59 percent from the floor for the game, including 64 percent after halftime (16 of 25). Most of the scoring was done in the paint — the teams combined to score 48 percent of their points in the lane.
Grace scored 46 points off the bench, 52 percent of the team’s scoring output.
Davidson led Grace with 15 points and eight rebounds. Jakob Gibbs scored 14 points by shooting 5 of 6 from the floor and 2 of 3 from beyond the arc.
Cade Gibbs tallied 11 points and a game-high four steals, and Gill had eight points off the bench.
Elijah Malone scored nine of his 13 points in the second half to go along with six boards. He made all four of his field goals and all five of his free throws.
The Lancers will be home again on Tuesday for a matchup with No. 12 Marian at 7 p.m.
Saturday’s game was the Crossroads League opener for both sides, and the hot-shooting Trojans (3-2, 1-0 CL) came out on top.
The first half started with an offensive barrage as the teams combined to score 15 points in the first three minutes.
The Trojans’ offense was fueled from beyond the arc in the early stages, helping Taylor gain an early advantage.
Taylor went 5 of 5 from the 3-point line across the first 7:30 of the contest; the Trojans pulled ahead by nine points and never trailed the rest of the game.
Grace fell behind by as many as 13 points late in the half, but a buzzer-beating triple from Jakob Gibbs helped trim Grace’s deficit to 48-39 by halftime.
Taylor shot 55 percent from the floor and 60 percent from downtown (6 of 10). Grace also shot well from the 3-point line (4 of 5), but the Lancers made only 44 percent of their field goals overall.
Grace showed more energy to start the second half and quickly caught up to the Trojans. The Lancers went on an 11-4 run after halftime to trail by two at 52-50.
Matt Jennings scored seven points during Grace’s spurt, and Frankie Davidson scored the other four points.
But as soon as the Lancers (4-2, 0-1 CL) showed life, Taylor responded. The Trojans unleashed a 13-2 charge to reassert a double-digit cushion with 12 minutes to play.
Grace struggled to penetrate Taylor’s lead and faced a 14-point deficit with 2:35 left in regulation.
But the Lancers threw caution to the wind in the final minutes, mounting a furious comeback which they nearly completed.
Grace pressured Taylor, forcing the Trojans into a number of miscues. Cade Gibbs and Jakob Gibbs combined to score eight quick points to spark a 13-2 run.
A pair of free throws from Eddie Gill IV cut Taylor’s lead down to 89-86 with 20 seconds remaining.
A strong trap on the next play resulted in an offensive foul by Taylor, giving Grace the ball with 10 seconds remaining and a chance to tie the score.
But the Lancers misfired on a potential game-tying triple, and Taylor iced the win with two free throws.
Taylor shot 59 percent from the floor for the game, including 64 percent after halftime (16 of 25). Most of the scoring was done in the paint — the teams combined to score 48 percent of their points in the lane.
Grace scored 46 points off the bench, 52 percent of the team’s scoring output.
Davidson led Grace with 15 points and eight rebounds. Jakob Gibbs scored 14 points by shooting 5 of 6 from the floor and 2 of 3 from beyond the arc.
Cade Gibbs tallied 11 points and a game-high four steals, and Gill had eight points off the bench.
Elijah Malone scored nine of his 13 points in the second half to go along with six boards. He made all four of his field goals and all five of his free throws.
The Lancers will be home again on Tuesday for a matchup with No. 12 Marian at 7 p.m.
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