Bethel Outlasts Rival Grace
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Dale [email protected]
In a Mid-Central Conference battle of nationally ranked NAIA men's basketball teams, the 6-foot-6 junior from Michigan City converted a pair of free throws with 13 seconds left in regulation, liftting the No. 11 Pilots to a 66-65 win over No. 14 Grace College in the near-capacity Orthopaedic Capital Center.[[In-content Ad]]"He's a great player," Grace coach Jim Kessler said of Walker. "He'll probaby be the MVP of our conference. He's just a great player. We had a chance to take advantage of him being on the bench and we didn't."
Walker's heroics came after he picked up two personal fouls and a technical foul in the first 2:29 of the highly-touted conference clash. After sitting on the bench for the final 17:31 of the first half, he played nearly 17 minutes of the second 20-minute half. He finished the game with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Tyler Brown led Bethel with a game-high 17 points, while Ryne Lightfoot added 12 points and Mark Lettinga chipped in with 10 points. Wawasee High School grad Kory Lantz scored four ponits and four assists for Bethel.
The win improved the Pilots to 18-3 overall and 6-1 in MCC play. Grace fell to 16-5 and 5-2.
Bethel is alone atop the conference standings, holding a slim advantage over both Grace and Huntington. Taylor and Spring Arbor are both 4-3 in MCC action, while Goshen and Indiana Wesleyan are 3-4, St. Francis is 2-5 and Marian is 0-7.
Grace had a chance to win Saturday's game in the waning seconds, but a three-pointer by junior Michael Wienhorst, a Warsaw Community High School graduate who hit three treys in the first half, didn't fall for the Lancers.
It goes without saying, Grace had ample opportunities in the first half when Walker was on the bench.
The Lancers' frontliners, however didn't take advantage of the situation, as 6-8 senior Kyle Johnson and 6-11 junior Eric Gaff combined to hit just 6 of 18 field goal attempts in the game.
Johnson scored 11 points, hitting 3 off 11 shots from the field and 4 of 4 charity tosses, while Gaff was 3 of 7 from the field and 3 of 5 at the free throw line.
It was Grace's guards that did their best to keep the Lancers in the game.
Senior Marcus Moore and junior Austin Kaiser, a Wawasee High School product, led Grace with 15 points each, while Wienhorst chipped in with 11 points.
"I had it written up on the board," said Kessler, whose team led 34-31 at halftime, trailed 52-43 in the second half and later tied the game at 63-all. "I told them (the players) the game would be decided in the paint. Kyle Johnson and Eric Gaff are a combined 6 of 18, and then Bethel beat us bad on the offensive boards. Bethel had 13 offensive boards, we only had eight. That's the story of the game right there. We can't afford to give them five more opportunities."
In a game that was decided by one point, Kessler certainly had a point.
Overall, Bethel outrebounded Grace 35-31.
With just under four minutes to play in the game, the Lancers trailed 63-56, but back-to-back buckets by Johnson and a three-pointer by Kaiser tied the game
with 2:29 remaining.
A Kaiser field goal gave Grace a 65-63 lead with 1:17 to play, but Walker scored the last three points of the game, hitting 1 of 2 free throws with 1:07 to play and converting charity tosses with 13 seconds remaining.
For the game, Bethel was 23 of 55 from the field, 5 of 14 from three-point range, and hit 15 of 20 free throws.
Grace was 21 of 52 from the field, 7 of 19 from three-point range, and converted 16 of 19 free throws.
"Neither team really shot the ball that well, we both shot 42 percent," said Kessler. "Both teams did a pretty good job at the free throw line. The story of the game was them beating us on the offensive glass."
Saturday's game was the 106th meeting between the two MCC rivals. The overall series is now tied 53-53.
The Lancers, who play their next three games on the road, will be in action again Wednesday at Huntington, followed by a game Jan. 30 at Taylor and Feb. 2 at St. Francis.
Grace's next home game is Feb. 6 against Indiana Wesleyan.
BETHEL 66, GRACE 65
B 31 35 - 66
G 34 31 - 65
Bethel - Lightfoot 4 2-2 12, Lantz 1 1-2 4, Brown 6 5-5 17, Lettinga 3 3-3 10, Walker 4 3-6 11, C. Laidig 3 0-0 6, Zeser 1 0-0 3, W. Laidig 1 1-2 3. Totals 23 15-20 66.
Grace - Johnson 3 4-4 11, Wienhorst 3 2-2 11, Gaff 3 3-5 9, S. Moore 0 0-0 0, M. Moore 7 0-0 15, Kaiser 3 7-8 15, Henry 0 0-0 0, Winkleman 0 0-0 0, Swanson 2 0-0 4. Totals 21 16-19 65.
3-point goals - Bethel 5 (Lightfoot 2, Lantz, Lettinga, Zeser), Grace 7 (Wienhorst 3, Kaiser 2, Johnson, M. Moore). Rebounds - Bethel 35 (Walker 12), Grace 31 (Johnson 9). Turnovers - Bethel 14, Grace 15. Fouls - Bethel 16, Grace 18. Fouled out - Swanson.
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In a Mid-Central Conference battle of nationally ranked NAIA men's basketball teams, the 6-foot-6 junior from Michigan City converted a pair of free throws with 13 seconds left in regulation, liftting the No. 11 Pilots to a 66-65 win over No. 14 Grace College in the near-capacity Orthopaedic Capital Center.[[In-content Ad]]"He's a great player," Grace coach Jim Kessler said of Walker. "He'll probaby be the MVP of our conference. He's just a great player. We had a chance to take advantage of him being on the bench and we didn't."
Walker's heroics came after he picked up two personal fouls and a technical foul in the first 2:29 of the highly-touted conference clash. After sitting on the bench for the final 17:31 of the first half, he played nearly 17 minutes of the second 20-minute half. He finished the game with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Tyler Brown led Bethel with a game-high 17 points, while Ryne Lightfoot added 12 points and Mark Lettinga chipped in with 10 points. Wawasee High School grad Kory Lantz scored four ponits and four assists for Bethel.
The win improved the Pilots to 18-3 overall and 6-1 in MCC play. Grace fell to 16-5 and 5-2.
Bethel is alone atop the conference standings, holding a slim advantage over both Grace and Huntington. Taylor and Spring Arbor are both 4-3 in MCC action, while Goshen and Indiana Wesleyan are 3-4, St. Francis is 2-5 and Marian is 0-7.
Grace had a chance to win Saturday's game in the waning seconds, but a three-pointer by junior Michael Wienhorst, a Warsaw Community High School graduate who hit three treys in the first half, didn't fall for the Lancers.
It goes without saying, Grace had ample opportunities in the first half when Walker was on the bench.
The Lancers' frontliners, however didn't take advantage of the situation, as 6-8 senior Kyle Johnson and 6-11 junior Eric Gaff combined to hit just 6 of 18 field goal attempts in the game.
Johnson scored 11 points, hitting 3 off 11 shots from the field and 4 of 4 charity tosses, while Gaff was 3 of 7 from the field and 3 of 5 at the free throw line.
It was Grace's guards that did their best to keep the Lancers in the game.
Senior Marcus Moore and junior Austin Kaiser, a Wawasee High School product, led Grace with 15 points each, while Wienhorst chipped in with 11 points.
"I had it written up on the board," said Kessler, whose team led 34-31 at halftime, trailed 52-43 in the second half and later tied the game at 63-all. "I told them (the players) the game would be decided in the paint. Kyle Johnson and Eric Gaff are a combined 6 of 18, and then Bethel beat us bad on the offensive boards. Bethel had 13 offensive boards, we only had eight. That's the story of the game right there. We can't afford to give them five more opportunities."
In a game that was decided by one point, Kessler certainly had a point.
Overall, Bethel outrebounded Grace 35-31.
With just under four minutes to play in the game, the Lancers trailed 63-56, but back-to-back buckets by Johnson and a three-pointer by Kaiser tied the game
with 2:29 remaining.
A Kaiser field goal gave Grace a 65-63 lead with 1:17 to play, but Walker scored the last three points of the game, hitting 1 of 2 free throws with 1:07 to play and converting charity tosses with 13 seconds remaining.
For the game, Bethel was 23 of 55 from the field, 5 of 14 from three-point range, and hit 15 of 20 free throws.
Grace was 21 of 52 from the field, 7 of 19 from three-point range, and converted 16 of 19 free throws.
"Neither team really shot the ball that well, we both shot 42 percent," said Kessler. "Both teams did a pretty good job at the free throw line. The story of the game was them beating us on the offensive glass."
Saturday's game was the 106th meeting between the two MCC rivals. The overall series is now tied 53-53.
The Lancers, who play their next three games on the road, will be in action again Wednesday at Huntington, followed by a game Jan. 30 at Taylor and Feb. 2 at St. Francis.
Grace's next home game is Feb. 6 against Indiana Wesleyan.
BETHEL 66, GRACE 65
B 31 35 - 66
G 34 31 - 65
Bethel - Lightfoot 4 2-2 12, Lantz 1 1-2 4, Brown 6 5-5 17, Lettinga 3 3-3 10, Walker 4 3-6 11, C. Laidig 3 0-0 6, Zeser 1 0-0 3, W. Laidig 1 1-2 3. Totals 23 15-20 66.
Grace - Johnson 3 4-4 11, Wienhorst 3 2-2 11, Gaff 3 3-5 9, S. Moore 0 0-0 0, M. Moore 7 0-0 15, Kaiser 3 7-8 15, Henry 0 0-0 0, Winkleman 0 0-0 0, Swanson 2 0-0 4. Totals 21 16-19 65.
3-point goals - Bethel 5 (Lightfoot 2, Lantz, Lettinga, Zeser), Grace 7 (Wienhorst 3, Kaiser 2, Johnson, M. Moore). Rebounds - Bethel 35 (Walker 12), Grace 31 (Johnson 9). Turnovers - Bethel 14, Grace 15. Fouls - Bethel 16, Grace 18. Fouled out - Swanson.
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