WATERLOO - A train that had been on the right track much of the season, Warsaw's varsity boys basketball team simply ran out of steam Saturday in the championship game of DeKalb 4A Sectional.

Having to play their third game in four days, the seventh-ranked Tigers appeared fatigued in the latter stages of the game, falling 62-50 to No. 5 DeKalb, a team that drew the bye and played just two games to win the title.

"Truthfully, we ran out of gas with our traps," Warsaw coach Al Rhodes said. "That, and we were never consistent on offense."

The loss finishes Warsaw's season at 21-3. DeKalb, which won its first sectional since the days of Luke Recker and the one-class tournament, improved to 21-1. The Barons will play Anderson Saturday in the Marion Regioinal.

Coupled with a second-quarter run by DeKalb, the Tigers did themselves in with poor shooting, hitting 22 of 52 shots overall and going 0 of 13 from the three-point arc.

DeKalb, on the other hand, was 20 of 36 overall and hit 6 of 13 three-pointers.

"In both halves we rushed on offense," Rhodes said. "And then our poor shot selection created transition baskets for them. That's why they had the lead like that."

The Tigers played basket for basket with the host Barons, who have won 41 of their last 43 games, in the first quarter and took a three-point lead when junior Ryan DeGeeter hit a basket at the 4:37 mark.

After Tiger senior Jared Shaw tied the game at 14 early in the second stanza, six-foot Baron guard Travis Bunch drilled a three-pointer. This was followed by a steal and basket by teammate Will Turner and then a dunk by 6-7 junior Adam Liddell.

When all was said and done, DeKalb was on a 10-0 run, leading 24-14 and then 26-18 at the half.

"The second quarter was pretty much the story of the game," Rhodes said. "We battled in the third quarter, but we didn't make up any ground."

A field goal from Shaw to start the third quarter put Warsaw within six, 26-20, but three-pointers from Turner and Matt Knapp led to a 32-22 Baron lead.

Shaw, fresh off 19 points and 10 rebounds in Friday's win over Carroll, scored nine in the quarter to keep Warsaw in it. The Tigers trailed 43-35 going into the fourth, and got little scoring from anyone but Shaw.

The 6-4 senior frontliner scored 26 points and grabbed seven boards. After Shaw, Greg Clay and DeGeeter scored six each, while Brad Seiss, Chris Clay and William Knepper all scored four.

The Barons, who led by double digits much of the fourth quarter, got 22 points from Bunch, who hit 5 of 6 three-pointers and 7 of 11 shots overall. Junior Alex Kock contributed 15 points and nine rebounds, while Knapp scored nine, Liddell eight and Turner six.

"Once they had the lead like they did, we had no way of catching up," Rhodes said.

Did fatigue from playing three very physical games in four days play a factor in that?

"Absolutely that was a factor," Rhodes said. "We tried to counteract that, but in the fourth quarter we just didn't have enough left."

Warsaw's final 21-3 record includes a Northern Lakes Conference Holiday Tournament championship and a school record for wins in a regular season. The Tigers' three losses came in overtime to Columbia City, double overtime to Elkhart Memorial and in the sectional championship to DeKalb. All three teams were ranked in the top 10 this season and combined for a 60-6 record.

NO. 5 DEKALB 62

NO. 7 WARSAW 50

Warsaw (21-3) 10 8 17 15 - 62

DeKalb (21-1) 12 14 17 19 - 62

Warsaw FG FT R S Pts.

Seiss (G) 2-7 0-0 3 1 4

G. Clay (G) 3-14 0-0 4 0 6

C. Clay (F) 2-5 0-0 4 2 4

Shaw (F) 10-18 6-9 7 2 26

DeGeeter (C) 3-6 0-0 5 0 6

Walmer 0-1 0-0 0 0 0

Knepper 2-2 0-0 4 0 4

Kindig 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Scott 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Totals 22-52 6-9 27 5 50

DeKalb FG FT R S Pts.

Liddell (C) 3-4 2-7 4 1 8

Bunch (G) 7-11 5-6 2 1 22

Knapp (G) 2-4 3-5 2 0 9

Turner (F) 2-6 1-2 4 3 6

Kock (F) 5-10 5-6 9 0 15

Brinkman 0-0 0-0 1 0 0

Kleeman 1-1 0-0 0 0 2

Totals 20-36 16-26 22 3 62

Three-point goals - Warsaw 0-13 (Shaw 0-5, G. Clay 0-4, Seiss 0-1, C. Clay 0-1, DeGeeter 0-1, Walmer 0-1), DeKalb 6-13 (Bunch 3-4, Knapp 2-4, Turner 1-4, Liddell 0-1). Fouls - Warsaw 20, DeKalb 9. Fouled out - C. Clay, Liddell.

Whitko Falls To Plymouth In Sectional Final

By Jen Gibson, Times-Union Sports Editor

PLYMOUTH -ÊThe Whitko Wildcats went into Saturday's Plymouth Sectional final with one objective - repeat of last year's outcome.

Last year, the Wildcats entered the sectional as the underdog and finished with a sectional title.

The Whitko squad, again considered the underdog, hoped to duplicate that accomplishment this year, but host Plymouth had other ideas.

The Pilgrims used a patient offense and stifling defense to top Whitko 61-44 and win the sectional championship.

The Wildcats started the game off on the right foot as John Woods netted the first basket of the game. But Plymouth's Ben Snyder answered with a three-pointer to put the Pilgrims up 3-2.

At the 6:07 mark, Brad Walpole scored for Whitko to make the score 4-3 in favor of the Wildcats. However, that was the last time the Whitko squad held a lead in the game.

Plymouth's Snyder and Kyle Wallace scored six straight points to give Plymouth a 9-4 lead.

Whitko ended the first quarter with a 4-0 run as Ben Garber and Woods each netted baskets to put Whitko back in the hunt, cutting Plymouth's lead to three, 16-13.

But Plymouth's Kyle Benge effectively ended Whitko's run by scoring five straight points.

After he stopped Whitko's run, Benge continued to plague the Wildcats through the second frame. Benge scored 11 of Plymouth's 15 points in the second quarter as the Pilgrims took a 31-20 lead at the half.

Whitko was 1-of-4 shooting from the field in the second frame, but hit 5 of 7 free throws to score seven points in the quarter.

The Wildcats' shooting woes continued in the third. Whitko scored just two points in the third quarter. Those two points came from free throws, and Whitko finished the quarter 0-of-6 shooting.

While Whitko struggled from the field, Plymouth took advantage, scoring 10 points and building a 41-22 lead going into the final stanza.

"They got in our heads for a quarter," said Whitko coach Don Zawlocki. "We just didn't do what we needed to do."

The Wildcats got within 13 points of the Pilgrims twice in the fourth quarter, but the Plymouth squad kept Whitko from getting any closer.

"We came to win," said Zawlocki. "Even though we did not win, I'm proud of our kids. They never gave up."

Benge led all scorers with 14 points, while his teammates Snyder and Dan Chamberlin scored 10 and 12 points, respectively.

Woods was the only Whitko player to hit double figures in the scoring column with 11. Marc Walter, Drew Spangle, Jeremy Coble and Walpole scored five points each for the Wildcats.

The win improves Plymouth's record to 13-9 overall. Whitko ends the season 9-14.

PLYMOUTH 61, WHITKO 44

Whitko 13 7 2 22 - 44

Plymouth 16 15 10 20 - 61

Whitko FG FT R S Pts.

Walters 1-5 3-3 0 1 5

Robbins 1-3 1-2 2 0 3

Walpole 2-3 1-2 3 0 5

Spangle 0-1 5-6 4 0 5

Woods 4-7 3-3 6 4 11

Garber 1-3 2-2 1 0 4

Lopshire 0-0 2-2 0 0 2

Hobbs 1-1 0-0 3 0 2

Coble 1-7 3-4 1 1 5

Day 0-0 2-2 0 1 2

Totals 11-30 22-26 20 3 44

Plymouth FG FT R S Pts.

Davis 1-2 4-6 3 2 6

Snyder 2-4 5-7 3 1 10

Wallace 2-2 3-3 0 0 8

Chamberlin 3-8 5-5 4 0 12

Scott 1-2 0-1 1 1 2

Benge 4-10 6-7 2 3 14

Clinton 2-3 0-0 3 0 4

Delp 1-1 3-4 2 0 5

Lawson 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Totals 16-32 26-33 18 7 61

Three-point goals -ÊWhitko 0-8 (Walters 0-3, Robbins 0-1, Walpole 0-1, Coble 0-3), Plymouth 4-8 (Snyder 1-2, Wallace 1-1, Chamberlin 1-4, Benge 1-2, Clinton 0-1). Fouls -ÊWhitko 24, Plymouth 17. Fouled out -ÊWalters.

LCA Boys Fall In State Finals

By Jen Gibson, Times-Union Sports Editor

WINONA LAKE -ÊGoing into Saturday's Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) Division I state finals, the Lakeland Christian Academy team knew Frankfort Christian Heritage would concentrate on Cougar leaders Junior Pehoua and Lionel Pehoua.

And that's exactly what the Warriors did. FCH held Junior Pehoua to just 2-of-8 shooting and Lionel Pehoua to only 1-of-4 shooting from the field in the first half.

But the Pehouas were not the only Cougars struggling early in the game. In the first half, LCA hit just 5 of 19 baskets from the field and went 3 of 6 from the charity stripe to score just 13 points.

Meanwhile, Frankfort was nearly perfect from both the field and the free throw line. The Warriors hit 15 of 18 baskets from the field and 3 of 3 free throws to score 34 points in the first half.

LCA's Junior Pehoua hit the first basket of the game to put LCA up 2-0, but Frankfort's Josh Comes anwered with a basket and a free throw to give FCH a 3-2 lead.

LCA's Matt Payton hit a free throw on one possession and a basket on the next to restore LCA's lead, but the Warriors tied the score again.

At the 3:56 mark, Lionel Pehoua hit a basket to give LCA a 7-5 lead. However, that was the last lead the Cougars held in the game.

In the final 3:39 of the first frame, Frankfort Christian outscored LCA 13-2 to take an 18-9 lead into the second frame.

FCH extended that lead in the second stanza. Comes, Eddie Pluhar, Justin Curry and Jon Kasper joined forces to hit 8 of 9 baskets from the field in the second quarter to extend the Warrior lead to 21, 34-13.

The Cougars fought back early in the third frame. Lionel Pehoua hit the first basket of the third quarter, sparking the LCA offense.

The Cougars matched the Warriors basket for basket for the first five minutes of the third frame.

Then with 3:19 left in the third, LCA started an 8-0 run that sliced FCH's lead to 14, 45-31.

At the end of the third, LCA trailed 47-33.

The fourth quarter was much like the third as LCA again outscored Frankfort Christian.

Lionel Pehoua and John Franklin scored the first two baskets of the fourth quarter to cut the Cougar deficit to 10, 47-47.

However, each time LCA made a run, FCH answered with one of its own. LCA got no closer that 10 points, and in the end the Warrios picked up the 68-57 win.

Frankfort Christian Heritage's Comes put on a show for the crowd, scoring 32 points and pulling down 13 rebounds. He had one dunk and grabbed six steals in the contest. Pluhar added 16 point for the Warriors and Curry had 13 points in the FCH win.

Lionel Pehoua led the LCA scoring charge with 18 points, including two dunks, while Junior Pehoua added 12 and Payton had 10.

LCA finishes the season 19-6.

FRANKFORT CHRISTIAN HERITAGE 68

LAKELAND CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 57

LCA 9 4 20 25 - 57

FCH 18 16 13 21 - 68

LCA FG FT R S Pts.

J. Pehoua 5-20 0-0 4 2 12

L. Pehoua 7-11 4-8 11 3 18

Franklin 2-9 4-4 3 1 8

Payton 4-10 2-4 8 3 10

Wilson 34 0-0 1 1 8

Popenfoose 0-1 0-0 1 1 0

Blocher 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Bucholz 0-0 0-0 0 1 0

Clemens 0-0 1-2 0 0 1

Momeyer 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Totals 21-55 11-18 28 12 57

FCH FG FT R S Pts.

King 0-2 0-0 0 0 0

Curry 5-7 5-8 1 3 13

Pluhar 7-8 0-0 3 2 16

Comes 8-12 15-17 13 6 32

Kasper 3-4 0-0 3 0 6

Wainwright 0-0 1-2 2 1 1

Fullam 0-0 0-0 1 0 0

Shuck 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Wyant 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Albright 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Trent 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Totals 23-33 21-27 23 12 68

Three-point goals -ÊLCA 4-13 (J. Pehoua 2-7, L. Pehoua 0-1, Franklin 0-3, Wilson 2-2), FCH 3-3 (Pluhar 2-2, Comes 1-1). Fouls - LCA 17, FCH 11. Fouled out - none. Technical fouls -ÊKasper.

LCA Girls Win ACSI State Championship

By Dale Hubler, Times-Union Sports Writer

WINONA LAKE - Playing Indiana's most storied sport, Lakeland Christian Academy's varsity girls basketball team wrote its own chapter of Hoosier Hysteria Saturday.

With a thrilling 47-45 win over Restoration Christian of Sellersburg at Grace College's Lancer Gym, the Cougars won their first Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) Division I state title at the varsity level.

Trailing 45-44 with 17 seconds left in regulation, Cougar freshman Erica Landolt made a steal and layup to give LCA a one-point lead. The Lions' next possession ended in a charging foul, turning the ball over to the Cougars with 3.6 left.

LCA's Courtney Lavender took the inbounds pass, and was then immediatley fouled. The 5-foot-7 senior stepped to the charity stripe and calmly sank the first for a 47-45 lead, but intentionally missed the second to run the clock out.

Restoration Christian grabbed the rebound, but only got as far as midcourt before the buzzer sounded.

The two-point win improved the Cougars, winners in eight of their last 11 games, to 10-8 on the season.

Sophomore Ashley Addair led the Cougars with a game-high 24 points. She also grabbed six rebounds, five steals and had an assist. Kristin Paulus and Rachel Buckholz chipped in with eight points each, while Landolt had four and Lavender three.

Paulus and Buckholz had seven rebounds each, while Paulus and Lavender had four steals each. Lavender led the team in assists with seven.

Addair started the contest by scoring the game's first five points, a three-pointer and a field goal. The Lions came back and tied the game with a 5-0 run of their own, and then led 11-9 going into the second.

The Cougars took another 5-point lead, 18-13, in the second quarter when Paulus connected on a field goal attempt at the 3:01 mark, but again the Lions came back.

Senior Kendhal Johnson scored Restoration's final five points of the half, including a three-pointer at the buzzer, to close the gap to 19-18.

After junior Adrienne Spigler scored for the Lions to knot the game at 32, teammate Mandi Combs hit a field goal and two free throws to give Restoration a 36-32 lead with 4:27 left.

Addair scored nine points in the final frame for the Cougars, and got help from her teammates who hit key free throws.

Combs led Restoration with 13 points, while freshman center Lindsey Wise added 12, Johnson and Sprigler eight each and Cortney Paro four.

LCA 47, RESTORATION CHRISTIAN 45

Restoration Chr. 11 7 9 18 - 45

Lakeland Chr. 9 10 12 16 - 47

LCA leaders - Ashley Addair 24 points, 6 rebounds, 5 steals, 1 assist; Kristin Paulus 8 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 assists; Rachel Buckholz 8 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals; Erica Landolt 4 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 assist; Courtney Lavender 3 points, 4 rebounds, 4 steals, 7 assist

Restoration Chr. scoring - Mandi Combs 13, Lindsey Wise 12, Kendhal Johnson 8, Adrienne Sprigler 8, Cortney Paro 4

Wawasee Gymnastics Team Takes Sectional

By Mike Madison, Times-Union Sports Correspondent

SYRACUSE -ÊThe banner hanging in the auxiliary gym at Wawasee High School shows 19 sectional championships in gymnastics since 1973.

There is now one more to add to that banner as a young Wawasee team claimed another sectional championship Saturday.

The Warriors hosted the event and dominated the field, defeating their closest opponent Plymouth by nearly seven points, 103.70-96.95.

The Warriors claimed the first and second spots in three of four events as well as having the first, second, and fourth place finishers in the all-around competition.

The victory earned the Warriors a spot at Friday night's regional at Valparaiso.

Joining them will be the second and third place team finishers Plymouth and Elkhart Memorial (93.65). West Noble (90.5) was fourth, Warsaw finished fifth (87.0). Rounding out the field were Manchester, East Noble, Lakeland, Prairie Heights, and Elkhart Central.

Joining the top three teams in Valparaiso will be the top six individuals from each event and the all-around.

One of those making that trip will be the Tiger's senior captain, Dana Wentzel. She placed sixth in the beam with a 7.8 and tied for fifth on the bars with a 7.875. She will compete in the regional in those two events. Wentzel finished 10th in the all-around competition with an overall score of 31.175.

Manchester's Tina French tied Wentzel for fifth on the bars and will also advance as an individual to the regional.

"I felt like we gave it everything we had today," said Tiger coach Carole Miller. "I am really proud of all of them. They put some things into their routines today that they added just this past week to strengthen their level of performance. They have worked so hard this year. It's tough coming to something like this where all the teams are going to be at their best. It's an excellent learning experience for all the girls. They should get so much out of this that they can bring back next year."

Wawasee came in with just too much skill for the rest of the field. While the Warriors are in fact a very young team, with all four of their top scorers being either a freshman or sophomore, they competed with a lot of maturity. It was obvious these girls have trained for a long time to get to this level.

The Warriors were led by their sensational freshman, Hannah Marshall. She took the all-around title with a score of 35.625. Sophomore teammate Lindsay Olson was second in the all-around with a 35.425. Marshall won both the Vault (9.25) and the Bars (8.9), while Olson won the Beam (8.725) and the Floor (9.1). Marshall was second on the Beam and Floor. Olson was second on the Bars and third on the Vault. Wawasee also had the fourth place finisher in the all-around as sophomore Cari Vanlue scored a 32.55.

With so much youthful talent it's easy to understand why Warrior coach Nika Prather was all smiles after the meet. "This was our goal from the beginning of the season. It's been along dry spell." The last Wawasee sectional title came in 1997. At that time the Warriors had won 19 sectional titles in the previous 24 years. "The girls promised me we won't go another five years," laughed the coach. "We really had a good meet today," she explained, "The girls were really nervous today as the expectations on them were really high coming in to this meet. We have had such a special season. I told then to just calm down, have fun, and do what we have been doing all year. They were able to gather themselves and do that. I am very proud of them."

The Valparaiso regional will take place Friday evening at 6:00 pm CST, that is 7:00 pm local time. It was originally scheduled for Saturday but rescheduled this past week. The top two teams from the four regionals will advance to state as well as the top six individuals in each event and the all-around.

"We are excited," commented Prather, "We have competed against many of the teams in our regional and have done well. I think this is a great opportunity for us."

Team Scores - 1. Wawasee 103.7, 2. Plymouth 96.95, 3. Elkhart Memorial 93.65, 4. West Noble 90.5, 5. Warsaw 87, 6. Manchester 82.7, 7. East Noble 82.2, 8. Lakeland 78.175, 9. Prairie Heights 31.425, 10. Elkhart Central 18.225

Bars - 1. Hannah Marshall (Wawa) 8.9, 2. Lindsay Olson (Wawa), 3. Brooke Newman (PH), 4. Jenny Lewis (Ply), 5. (tie) Dana Wentzel (War), Tina French (Man)

Vault - 1. Marshall (Wawa) 9.25, 2. Kourtney Beckham (Ply), 3. Olson (Wawa), 4. Jessica Stansberry (WN), 5. Jessica Vervnyct (Ply), 6. Linda Moenninghoff (WN)

Floor Exercise - 1. Olson (Wawa) 9.1, 2. Marshall (Wawa), 3. Emily Corpe (EM), 4. Cari VanLue (Wawa), 5. Beckham (Ply), 6. Moenninghoff (WN)

Beam - 1. Olson (Wawa) 8.725, 2. Marshall (Wawa), 3. VanLue (Wawa), 4. Corpe (EM), 5. Lewis (Ply), 6. Wentzel (War)

All-Around - 1. Marshall (Wawa) 35.625, 2. Olson (Wawa), 3. Corpe (EM)), 4. VanLue (Wawa), 5. Beckham (Ply), 6. Moenninghoff (WN)

Manchester Ends Season With Sectional Loss To Winamac

By Dan Riordan, Times-Union Sports Correspondent

ROCHESTER -ÊSaturday night's final of the Rochester Sectional pitted two seemingly even teams.

The Manchester Squires and the Winamac Warriors sported 12-9 and 13-9 records, respectively.

And for 29 minutes the game was even. However, the final three minutes nearly turned March Madness into a March Melee, and when the smoke cleared Winamac triumphed 49-32.

With 3:48 left in the game, Squire Todd Dale stole the ball at midcourt and drove in for a layup. As he laid it in a whistle blew.

It looked as though the call would go on a Winamac defender for fouling Dale. Instead the official called a foul on Manchester's Anthony Sorg for fouling on the Dale steal.

Instead of finding themselves down 32-29 after the Dale layup, Manchester was down 34-27 after Winamac's Blair Bowden nailed both free throws from the Sorg foul.

From there the wheels fell off for the Squires.

At the three-minute mark, Sorg picked up his fifth foul on Warrior Kyle Podell.

As Sorg huddled his team up before being leaving the court, Podell began to make his way towards the Squire huddle. A forearm from Sorg quickly stopped him, and drew a technical foul, putting a nail in Manchester's coffin.

The Warriors went on 12-0 run with all of those points coming from the free throw line.

Before the follies that were the final minutes, basketball was actually played.

Both teams started slow. Manchester started an early trend of poor shooting from the floor. The Squires also handed the ball over to Winamac four times on turnovers in the first period.

The Warriors used that to build an 11-5 lead after one. A running jumper by 290-pound Jake Despot capped the quarter for Winamac.

Despite his size, the 6-foot-3 forward scored all nine of his points in the first half. That included all five of Winamac's points in the second quarter.

In the second quarter, Manchester drew even by forcing turnovers and getting second-chance baskets. In fact six of the Squires' 11 second-quarter points came from offensive boards.

The second half saw those second chances dwindle.

Winamac began to use its size to dominate the boards.

Neither team was lighting up the scoreboard. They did however have vastly contrasting styles.

Manchester released a firestorm of shots compared to Winamac. For the game, the Squires' out shot the Warriors 44-22. Unfortunately for the Squires, Manchester made one less shot for its effort.

Winamac's methodical offense and shot selection threw Manchester out of any sort of rhythm. Despite everything, the Squires found themselves down just 24-21 going into the final quarter.

The Warriors began to pull away in the first part of the final quarter.

Anthony Sorg's trey at the 4:35 mark drew the Squires within five at 32-27.

That would ultimately prove to be the closest Manchester got.

The Squires end their season at 12-10. Winamac now 14-9 will face Jimtown (16-7) in the Triton Regional on Saturday.

WINAMAC 49, MANCHESTER 32

Manchester 5 11 5 11 - 32

Winamac 11 5 8 25 - 49

MANCHESTER FG FT A S R PTS.

M. Sorg 0-3 2-2 0 1 1 2

A. Sorg 1-7 0-0 2 2 3 3

Dale 5-10 1-2 0 3 4 12

Stoops 1-9 0-0 0 1 0 2

Simcoe 2-8 0-0 1 3 4 5

Hicks 1-5 1-4 0 0 1 3

Carandante 2-2 0-2 1 0 1 5

Totals 12-44 4-10 4 10 14 32

WINAMAC FG FT A S R PTS.

Good 0-1 6-7 4 2 1 6

Bowden 1-2 6-6 1 0 8 8

Podell 5-10 9-12 1 2 2 20

Despot 4-6 0-0 1 0 9 9

Howard 2-2 0-0 2 1 4 4

Roth 1-1 0-0 0 1 1 2

Totals 13-22 21-25 9 6 25 49

Three-point goals -ÊWinamac 2-5 (Podell 1-3, Despot 1-2), Manchester 4-12 (A. Sorg 1-5, Dale 1-2, Simcoe 1-1, Carandante 1-1, M. Sorg 0-2, Stoops 0-1). Turnovers -ÊWinamac 15, Manchester 13. Fouls -ÊWinamac 9, Manchester 20. Fouled Out -ÊA. Sorg. Technical Fouls -ÊA. Sorg

Grace Men End Season At Cedarville

Times-Union Staff Report

CEDARVILLE, OH - The Grace College men's basketball season came to an end Saturday in the NCCAA Regional Championship game, falling to Cedarville 72-71. Cedarville made a free-throw with 1.3 seconds remaining to get the victory and a trip to the NCCAA National Tournament.

Cedarville took an early 6-4 lead, but that was the only advantage the Yellow Jackets would have in the first half. Grace scored the next seven points and sprinted to a 41-30 halftime edge.

The Lancers added a basket to start the second half to take their largest lead of the game at 13 points. Cedarville, however, went on a 19-5 run to take a 49-48 lead. The game then see-sawed back and forth until Matt Moore scored with 1:49 to play to give the Lancers a 70-66 lead.

After Cedarville scored to cut the deficit in half, Matt Abernethy made one-of-two free-throws for a 71-68 lead. With 42 seconds left, David Dingeman hit a three-pointer to tie the game and Cedarville stopped the Lancers and regained the ball with 21 seconds left.

Following a Yellow Jacket timeout, Cedarville's Greg Guiler put up a shot with 1.3 seconds left that Grace's Joe Saunders blocked that would have sent the game to overtime.

However, Saunders was called for a foul and Guiler made the first free-throw to give Cedarville the win.

Seniors Matt Moore and Brian O'Dell played their last games for the Lancers. Moore ended with 19 points and four assists, while O'Dell had two points and three rebounds.

Matt Abernethy ended with a game-high 22 points and added 10 rebounds, while Joe Saunders had 13 points and 12 boards.

Grace ends the year at 17-17, the best record for the Lancers in five seasons.

CEDARVILLE 72, GRACE 71

Grace 41 30 - 71

Cedarville 30 42 - 72

Grace - Matt Abernethy 8-18 6-10 22, Andrew Kipsey 2-6 1-2 5, Joe Saunders 5-8 3-5 13, Brian O'Dell 1-7 0-0 2, Matt Moore 6-9 4-4 19, Corey Smith 1-4 2-2 5, Derric Isensee 1-4 1-2 3, Tim Bailey 1-1 0-0 2, Total 25-57 17-25 71

Cedarville - Barry Chamberlin 3-10 2-2 10, Josh Gast 5-12 2-3 15, Andrey Arkhipov 1-5 1-2 3, Jason Weakley 4-9 4-4 12, Greg Guiler 1-9 1-2 3, Brandon Lee 0-3 0-0 0, Justin Lower 3-6 0-0 7, Jason Howard 0-1 0-0 0, Brad Kormash 1-2 0-0 3, David Kragel 0-0 0-0 0, David Dingeman 6-13 3-3 19, Total 24-70 13-16 72

Three-pointers - Grace 4-18 (Moore 3-5, Smith 1-2, Isensee 0-3, Kipsey 0-4, O'Dell 0-4), Cedarville 11-40 (Dingeman 4-8, Gast 3-9, Chamberlin 2-5, Kormash 1-2, Lower 1-4, Lee 0-3, Weakley 0-4, Guiler 0-6). Rebounds - Grace 47 (Saunders 12), Cedarville 37 (Chamberlin 13). Personal fouls - Grace 15, Cedarville 18. Fouled out - none. Turnovers - Grace 10, Cedarville 7. [[In-content Ad]]