WINONA LAKE, Ind. - With a minute left in the first half, Grace’s men’s basketball team faced a 14-point deficit against Indiana Wesleyan.
But a thrilling second-half comeback in the Crossroads League Tournament semifinals led the Lancers to an 89-82 overtime win.
The win sends Grace (25-5) to the tournament championship game on Monday night; Grace will host Huntington on Monday at 7 p.m. in a rematch of the 2023 championship game.
It is the Lancers’ fourth straight trip to the tournament finals; Grace is hoping to defend its three-peat crown.
The first half was a battle in the paint. Nearly half of the combined points occurred in the lane.
Ian Raasch had a steal and dunk in the opening few minutes, but it was the Wildcats who opened up an early 7-4 lead.
IWU seized a 16-10 lead as Grace’s offense struggled to find a rhythm. The deficit grew to 23-13 at the midway mark of the first half.
Grace found a spark, using layups from Carter Stoltzfus and Justin DeGraaf as well as a triple from Brycen Graber, slashing IWU’s lead to four.
But the Lancers again went stagnant to end the half. The Wildcats took advantage to open up a 14-point lead with just over a minute remaining.
But two late scores from Raasch and Ian Scott helped bring Grace to within 42-32 at halftime; Raasch’s banked shot went in just before halftime.
IWU was ultra efficient on offense, shooting 52 percent from the floor, 50 percent on 3s and committing only two turnovers. Grace, on the other hand, had six turnovers and shot 2 of 9 on 3-pointers.
Grace began to find its offensive footing as the second half kicked off. The Lancers found success attacking the paint.
Raasch converted an early and-1, and Grace used a furious 7-0 run to pull within two. DeGraaf capped off the run with an and-1, sending the crowd into a frenzied state.
IWU called two timeouts over the first seven minutes of the second half, hoping to slow down the Lancers. But Grace had found its confidence.
Shortly afterward, a 3-pointer from Hunter Walston and a basket from DeGraaf gave Grace the lead at 53-52.
The teams could not be separated over the final 13 minutes.
Grace tried to pull away when DeGraaf hit a triple with 5:14 remaining, giving Grace a 64-60 lead. But the Wildcats clawed back with four straight points to level the score.
The Wildcats twice took a two-point lead in the final minute, but each time Grace tied the game thanks to Scott.
The first time, Scott tied the game 71-71 with a thunderous dunk. The second time, Scott sank two free throws with 28 seconds remaining to level the game at 73-73.
The Wildcats had a chance to win the game at the buzzer, but strong defense from Stoltzfus and Raasch forced a miss, and the game went to overtime.
Scott scored the final nine points of regulation for the Lancers.
Grace began the overtime period with confidence. Stoltzfus drilled a triple on the first possession, and Scott followed that up with two straight dunks.
Grace forced two missed shots in a row down the stretch, forcing the Wildcats to begin fouling to extend the game. The teams exchanged fouling strategies over the final 30 seconds, and Grace sank 7 of 8 from the foul line to ice the win.
The Lancers finished the game shooting 56 percent from the floor, overcoming a 24-percent shooting performance on 3s. Grace did value the ball with 24 assists and 11 turnovers.
Scott poured in 19 points, 10 rebounds, 5 blocks and 4 assists, shooting 7 of 10 from the floor.
DeGraaf scored 14 points in 16 minutes off the bench, and Stoltzfus tallied 8 points, 9 assists and 0 turnovers.
Raasch did not miss a shot (7 of 7), producing 16 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.
Brett Sickafoose notched 9 points, 6 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals, Gage Sefton added 12 points, and Walston collected 8 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.
The Lancers had major advantages in paint points (50-32), fastbreak points (26-9) and bench points (30-5).

Sauder Wins Historic NAIA Mile Championship
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Kylie Sauder sprinted her way into Lancer history on Saturday night for Grace’s track and field team.
Sauder won the mile national championship in breathtaking fashion, passing two runners in the final turn to highlight the final day of the 2025 NAIA Indoor National Championships.
She shattered her previous school record by nine seconds thanks to a fantastic kick. Sauder ran comfortably at the back of the lead pack for most of the race, maneuvering between fourth and fifth place.
As the race reached the final lap, Sauder had moved into third with eyes on the front. Sauder turned on the jets in the final turn, sprinting into second place.
With six strides before the finish line, Sauder breezed past the leader and into history, breaking the tape in 4:46.82. Sauder is the first Lancer to win an NAIA indoor national championship for an individual event.
She saved her best for last, running the final 200 meters in 30.53 seconds; her lap was nearly two seconds faster than any other lap completed in the race (by any runner).
Sauder will leave Florida with two NAIA All-American finishes, helping the women’s 4x800 team reach All-American status on Friday.
Sauder was not the only All-American on Saturday, however. Esther Cameron ended Grace’s day in the 5,000 finals. She grabbed fourth place with an impressive run of 17:06.33.
Cameron’s time beat her previous school record by over five seconds.
Additionally, Brady Hunsberger completed his indoor season in the mile finals. He was seeded 19th coming into the championships, but he far exceeded that mark by placing ninth in the nation with a time of 4:12.34.
Grace’s women finished in 17th place in the team standings, the second-best finish in team history. Grace’s men did not score in the meet.
The Lancers will commence the outdoor season on March 22 with the Polar Bear Invitational in Marion, Ind.

Lancers Open League Play At Taylor
UPLAND, Ind. - Grace’s baseball team started the conference slate with a doubleheader against No. 19 Taylor on Friday afternoon. The Lancers dropped both games on the day, falling 12-0 and 22-7.
The bats were held in check throughout the opener as Grace (3-6, 0-2 CL) managed just four baserunners in the game.
The Trojans took control of the game in the second inning, plating five runs to move ahead. The home team tacked on four more runs over the next two innings to take a 9-0 advantage.
Grace put runners aboard in back-to-back innings and added its lone hit in the seventh, but couldn't find the run-scoring hit.
The second game of the double dip started in a similar fashion with Taylor jumping ahead early. The home team did most of its damage in two separate innings, putting up two crooked innings of nine runs apiece.
After trailing by double digits through the first four innings, the Lancers outscored the Trojans over the final three frames 7-4.
Grace put together a two-hit inning in the fifth, getting a single up the middle from Ryan Stark and a two-run blast from Sean Gannon.
The next inning, the Lancers loaded the bases with a hit by pitch and a pair of walks. Stark provided the fireworks, taking the pitcher deep for a grand slam to plate four runs in the inning.
Grace’s final run of the game came via the long ball when Maximo De Leon belted a solo shot in the last inning.
The pitching staff combined for eight strikeouts. Stark finished the game 2 for 3 with 4 RBIs and 2 runs.
Grace will continue its series against Taylor with a doubleheader on March 3. The finale of the four-game set is scheduled for 12 p.m. at Winterholter Field in Upland, Ind.