Grace Advances To MCC Semifinals
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Dale [email protected]
Wednesday evening's 79-73 win over the visiting Taylor University Trojans was more than good. The six-point victory pushed the Lancers into Saturday's semifinal round of the Mid-Central College Conference Tournament and probably secured their bid to the NAIA Division II National Tournament.[[In-content Ad]]"We've got a lot of pieces on this team," said Kessler, whose team had four players score in double figures. "We had a number of different guys step up and give us major contributions."
With standout point guard Bruce Grimm Jr. sidelined with a staph infection in his leg, second-seeded Grace got 25 points and 10 rebounds from junior Duke Johnson, 18 points from freshman Greg Miller, 12 points and nine assists from senior David Henry and 11 points and six assists from sophomore Elliot Smith.
"We had guys step up and make up the difference," said Kessler, referring to his team's depth in the absence of Grimm, the team's second-leading scorer and the MCC Newcomer of the Year after he transferred from NCAA Division I East Tennessee State.
The Lancers also got seven points and three assists from junior Dayton Merrell as they finished the game 30 of 54 (56 percent) from the field overall, 7 of 14 from three-point range, and 12 of 14 at the charity stripe.
As a team, Grace dished out 26 assists and turned the ball over just 10 times.
"When we're playing at our best, we're moving the ball around and finding the open man," said Kessler. "Twenty six assists and only 10 turnovers, and we played without Bruce, I'm happy with that."
The Lancers, ranked 14th in the latest NAIA national poll, improved to 22-9, while seventh-seeded Taylor finished its season with a 15-15 record.
Grace, which also beat Taylor by scores of 70-42 and 78-58 during the regular-season portion of MCC play, will host defending national champion and No. 3 seed St. Francis Saturday at 3 p.m.
The Cougars, ranked 16th in the nation, advanced to the semifinal round by beating sixth-seeded Marian University 90-79 Wednesday.
"We'll go at them again," Kessler said of St. Francis, a team that his Lancers defeated 85-80 in Fort Wayne on Jan. 15 and 57-56 at the OCC on Feb. 15. "We matchup well with St. Francis, but we really need Bruce to play Saturday."
Top-seeded Indiana Wesleyan defeated No. 8 seed Bethel 86-80, while fifth-seeded Spring Arbor upended No. 5 seed Huntington 56-54.
IWU will host Spring Arbor Saturday at 3 p.m.
Saturday's semifinal winners will square off Tuesday at 7 p.m., with the higher seed getting to host the championship game.
The Lancers have won six of their last seven games and 12 of their last 15.
In Wedneday's victory, Grace raced out to a 7-0 lead and made that seven-point advantage hold up it led 39-32 at halftime.
Johnson scored 14 of his team-high 25 points in the first 20 minutes of the game.
In the second half, Grace clung to a 43-42 advantage, but used a 21-6 run to build a 16-point cushion at 64-48.
The last five points of the spurt came from Merrell, who hit a three-pointer and followed it up with a lay-in basket.
"Dayton gave us great minutes," said Kessler. "He scores in spurts, and he gave us a big lift tonight."
The Trojans got within four points, 75-71, when sophomore Casey Coons hit a three-pointer with just under 26 seconds remaining.
Smith then scored Grace's next four points from the free throw line, giving the Lancers an eight-point advantage with nine seconds remaining.
Coons led Taylor with a game-high 31 points, while junior Kyle Hanaway chipped in with 12 points and nine assists and freshman Josh Riikonen, an Elkhart Central product, added 10 points and 11 rebounds.
"Coons had a great night," said Kessler. "He's a quality player."
The Lancers will face another quality player Saturday in St. Francis' Dejovaun Sawyer-Davis, the MCC Player of the Year and MVP of last year's NAIA Divison II National Tournament.
GRACE COLLEGE 79, TAYLOR UNIVERSITY 73
TU 32 41 - 73
GC 39 40 - 79
Taylor - Josh Riikonen 3-8 4-5 10, Nate Kasper 4-9 0-0 8, Kyle Hanaway 4-8 4-5 12, Casey Coons 9-18 8-11 31, Drew Tower 1-4 0-0 3, Ben Raichel 0-1 0-0 0, Jake Burkholder 4-5 1-2 9. Totals 25-53 17-23 73.
Grace - Dayton Merrell 3-5 0-0 7, Greg Mille 8-10 0-0 18, Duke Johnson 10-15 5-5 25, David Henry 3-8 3-4 12, Elliot Smith 3-8 4-5 11, Michael Humphrey 1-2 0-0 2, Jacob Peattie 1-3 0-0 2, Tannan Peters 0-1 0-0 0, Dennis Williams 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 30-54 12-14 79.
Three-pointers - Taylor 6 (Coons 5, Tower), Grace 7 (Henry 3, Miller 2, Merrell, Smith); Rebounds - Taylor 25 (Riikonen 11), Grace 26 (Johnson 10); Assists - Taylor 14 (Hanaway 9), Grace 26 (Henry 9, Smith 6); Turnovers - Taylor 12, Grace 10; Fouls - Taylor 19, Grace 19; Fouled out - Burkholder; Records: Taylor 15-15, Grace 22-9
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Wednesday evening's 79-73 win over the visiting Taylor University Trojans was more than good. The six-point victory pushed the Lancers into Saturday's semifinal round of the Mid-Central College Conference Tournament and probably secured their bid to the NAIA Division II National Tournament.[[In-content Ad]]"We've got a lot of pieces on this team," said Kessler, whose team had four players score in double figures. "We had a number of different guys step up and give us major contributions."
With standout point guard Bruce Grimm Jr. sidelined with a staph infection in his leg, second-seeded Grace got 25 points and 10 rebounds from junior Duke Johnson, 18 points from freshman Greg Miller, 12 points and nine assists from senior David Henry and 11 points and six assists from sophomore Elliot Smith.
"We had guys step up and make up the difference," said Kessler, referring to his team's depth in the absence of Grimm, the team's second-leading scorer and the MCC Newcomer of the Year after he transferred from NCAA Division I East Tennessee State.
The Lancers also got seven points and three assists from junior Dayton Merrell as they finished the game 30 of 54 (56 percent) from the field overall, 7 of 14 from three-point range, and 12 of 14 at the charity stripe.
As a team, Grace dished out 26 assists and turned the ball over just 10 times.
"When we're playing at our best, we're moving the ball around and finding the open man," said Kessler. "Twenty six assists and only 10 turnovers, and we played without Bruce, I'm happy with that."
The Lancers, ranked 14th in the latest NAIA national poll, improved to 22-9, while seventh-seeded Taylor finished its season with a 15-15 record.
Grace, which also beat Taylor by scores of 70-42 and 78-58 during the regular-season portion of MCC play, will host defending national champion and No. 3 seed St. Francis Saturday at 3 p.m.
The Cougars, ranked 16th in the nation, advanced to the semifinal round by beating sixth-seeded Marian University 90-79 Wednesday.
"We'll go at them again," Kessler said of St. Francis, a team that his Lancers defeated 85-80 in Fort Wayne on Jan. 15 and 57-56 at the OCC on Feb. 15. "We matchup well with St. Francis, but we really need Bruce to play Saturday."
Top-seeded Indiana Wesleyan defeated No. 8 seed Bethel 86-80, while fifth-seeded Spring Arbor upended No. 5 seed Huntington 56-54.
IWU will host Spring Arbor Saturday at 3 p.m.
Saturday's semifinal winners will square off Tuesday at 7 p.m., with the higher seed getting to host the championship game.
The Lancers have won six of their last seven games and 12 of their last 15.
In Wedneday's victory, Grace raced out to a 7-0 lead and made that seven-point advantage hold up it led 39-32 at halftime.
Johnson scored 14 of his team-high 25 points in the first 20 minutes of the game.
In the second half, Grace clung to a 43-42 advantage, but used a 21-6 run to build a 16-point cushion at 64-48.
The last five points of the spurt came from Merrell, who hit a three-pointer and followed it up with a lay-in basket.
"Dayton gave us great minutes," said Kessler. "He scores in spurts, and he gave us a big lift tonight."
The Trojans got within four points, 75-71, when sophomore Casey Coons hit a three-pointer with just under 26 seconds remaining.
Smith then scored Grace's next four points from the free throw line, giving the Lancers an eight-point advantage with nine seconds remaining.
Coons led Taylor with a game-high 31 points, while junior Kyle Hanaway chipped in with 12 points and nine assists and freshman Josh Riikonen, an Elkhart Central product, added 10 points and 11 rebounds.
"Coons had a great night," said Kessler. "He's a quality player."
The Lancers will face another quality player Saturday in St. Francis' Dejovaun Sawyer-Davis, the MCC Player of the Year and MVP of last year's NAIA Divison II National Tournament.
GRACE COLLEGE 79, TAYLOR UNIVERSITY 73
TU 32 41 - 73
GC 39 40 - 79
Taylor - Josh Riikonen 3-8 4-5 10, Nate Kasper 4-9 0-0 8, Kyle Hanaway 4-8 4-5 12, Casey Coons 9-18 8-11 31, Drew Tower 1-4 0-0 3, Ben Raichel 0-1 0-0 0, Jake Burkholder 4-5 1-2 9. Totals 25-53 17-23 73.
Grace - Dayton Merrell 3-5 0-0 7, Greg Mille 8-10 0-0 18, Duke Johnson 10-15 5-5 25, David Henry 3-8 3-4 12, Elliot Smith 3-8 4-5 11, Michael Humphrey 1-2 0-0 2, Jacob Peattie 1-3 0-0 2, Tannan Peters 0-1 0-0 0, Dennis Williams 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 30-54 12-14 79.
Three-pointers - Taylor 6 (Coons 5, Tower), Grace 7 (Henry 3, Miller 2, Merrell, Smith); Rebounds - Taylor 25 (Riikonen 11), Grace 26 (Johnson 10); Assists - Taylor 14 (Hanaway 9), Grace 26 (Henry 9, Smith 6); Turnovers - Taylor 12, Grace 10; Fouls - Taylor 19, Grace 19; Fouled out - Burkholder; Records: Taylor 15-15, Grace 22-9
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