Grace Men Open MCC Play With Win
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Dale [email protected]
Kessler's Lancers, ranked 15th in the latest NAIA Division II national poll, did just that Wednesday night in front of a lively, near-capacity crowd at the Orthopaedic Capital Center.[[In-content Ad]]Behind strong guard play from Bruce Grimm Jr. and David Henry, and a strong inside presence from Duke Johnson, Grace beat the Bethel Pilots 84-76.
"It's a huge win," said Kessler, whose team improved to 7-1 overall and 1-0 in the MCC. "We outscored them in both halves. I didn't like that we gave up 40 points in the first half. We did a little better in the second half and only gave up 36. To win a championship in this leage, you have to defend your homecourt, and you have to do it against some quality teams."
Bethel, which fell to 8-3 overall and 0-2 in the MCC, entered Wednesday night's game with a 3-0 record against the Lancers in games played at the state-of-the-art OCC.
Grimm led Grace in scoring with a game-high 23 points. The former Rochester High School standout also added six assists and four steals.
"Bruce handled the ball well against their pressure," said Kessler. "He's a winner. When you need someone to step up for you, he'll do that. Bruce and David made some big baskets, and Duke made some big shots in the post for us."
Henry, who was 5 of 9 from three-point range, finished the game with 20 points and five assists, while Johnson came off the bench to score 16 points.
Greg Miller chipped in with seven points and six rebounds for the Lancers, Elliot Smith scored seven points and Dayton Merrell added six points.
Grace led 46-40 at halftime and stretched the lead to 63-50 when Henry hit a three-pointer with 12:49 remaining in the game.
The Pilots cut the deficit to four, 76-72, with Caleb Laidig's old-fashioned three-point play, but another trey by Henry gave the Lancers a seven-point lead with 1:42 to play.
Grace led by at least four points the rest of the way.
"In the second half we calmed down," said Kessler. "We played at our tempo and controlled the game. We went long stretches without a turnover. This is a big win for us."
The Lancers turned the ball over 15 times in the win, only six of them were in the second half.
Laidig led Bethel with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Ryan Benner added 15 points, Joe Welch scored 12 points and Landon Booker added 10 points.
The Lancers are in action again Saturday when they hit the road for a 3 p.m. at MCC rival Marian.
Grace will then host Manchester College Tuesday at 7 p.m.
GRACE 84, BETHEL 76
Bethel 40 36 - 76
Grace 46 38 - 84
Bethel - Jordan Bowerman 3-7 2-4 8, Joe Welch 5-7 2-4 12, Landon Booker 4-8 2-2 10, Kyle Ritz 0-6 1-2 1, Caleb Laidig 4-9 8-12 16, Micah Horner 0-1 0-0 0, Steve Ward 2-3 0-0 4, Cody Cochran 1-2 0-0 2, Taylor Kolbus 0-0 2-4 2, Michael Mislan 2-2 0-0 4, Ryan Benner 7-11 0-0 15, Patrick Oetting 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 29-58 17-28 76.
Grace - Dayton Merrell 2-4 2-2 6, Greg Miller 2-6 3-5 7, Dennis Williams 1-1 0-0 2, David Henry 6-10 3-4 20, Bruce Grimm 6-15 8-10 23, Lee Ross 0-0 0-0 0, Jacob Peattie 0-0 0-0 0, Elliot Smith 2-4 2-2 7, Tannan Peters 0-1 3-4 3, Jared Treadway 0-0 0-0 0, Duke Johnson 7-12 2-3 16. Totals 26-53 23-30 84.
Three-point goals - Bethel 1 (Benner), Grace 9 (Henry 5, Grimm 3, Smith). Rebounds - Bethel 30 (Laidig 8), Grace 25 (Miller 6). Turnovers - Bethel 14, Grace 15. Fouls - Bethel 22, Grace 23. Fouled out - Bowerman, Welch. Record: Bethel 8-3, 0-2 MCC, Grace 7-1, 1-0 MCC
Kessler's Lancers, ranked 15th in the latest NAIA Division II national poll, did just that Wednesday night in front of a lively, near-capacity crowd at the Orthopaedic Capital Center.[[In-content Ad]]Behind strong guard play from Bruce Grimm Jr. and David Henry, and a strong inside presence from Duke Johnson, Grace beat the Bethel Pilots 84-76.
"It's a huge win," said Kessler, whose team improved to 7-1 overall and 1-0 in the MCC. "We outscored them in both halves. I didn't like that we gave up 40 points in the first half. We did a little better in the second half and only gave up 36. To win a championship in this leage, you have to defend your homecourt, and you have to do it against some quality teams."
Bethel, which fell to 8-3 overall and 0-2 in the MCC, entered Wednesday night's game with a 3-0 record against the Lancers in games played at the state-of-the-art OCC.
Grimm led Grace in scoring with a game-high 23 points. The former Rochester High School standout also added six assists and four steals.
"Bruce handled the ball well against their pressure," said Kessler. "He's a winner. When you need someone to step up for you, he'll do that. Bruce and David made some big baskets, and Duke made some big shots in the post for us."
Henry, who was 5 of 9 from three-point range, finished the game with 20 points and five assists, while Johnson came off the bench to score 16 points.
Greg Miller chipped in with seven points and six rebounds for the Lancers, Elliot Smith scored seven points and Dayton Merrell added six points.
Grace led 46-40 at halftime and stretched the lead to 63-50 when Henry hit a three-pointer with 12:49 remaining in the game.
The Pilots cut the deficit to four, 76-72, with Caleb Laidig's old-fashioned three-point play, but another trey by Henry gave the Lancers a seven-point lead with 1:42 to play.
Grace led by at least four points the rest of the way.
"In the second half we calmed down," said Kessler. "We played at our tempo and controlled the game. We went long stretches without a turnover. This is a big win for us."
The Lancers turned the ball over 15 times in the win, only six of them were in the second half.
Laidig led Bethel with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Ryan Benner added 15 points, Joe Welch scored 12 points and Landon Booker added 10 points.
The Lancers are in action again Saturday when they hit the road for a 3 p.m. at MCC rival Marian.
Grace will then host Manchester College Tuesday at 7 p.m.
GRACE 84, BETHEL 76
Bethel 40 36 - 76
Grace 46 38 - 84
Bethel - Jordan Bowerman 3-7 2-4 8, Joe Welch 5-7 2-4 12, Landon Booker 4-8 2-2 10, Kyle Ritz 0-6 1-2 1, Caleb Laidig 4-9 8-12 16, Micah Horner 0-1 0-0 0, Steve Ward 2-3 0-0 4, Cody Cochran 1-2 0-0 2, Taylor Kolbus 0-0 2-4 2, Michael Mislan 2-2 0-0 4, Ryan Benner 7-11 0-0 15, Patrick Oetting 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 29-58 17-28 76.
Grace - Dayton Merrell 2-4 2-2 6, Greg Miller 2-6 3-5 7, Dennis Williams 1-1 0-0 2, David Henry 6-10 3-4 20, Bruce Grimm 6-15 8-10 23, Lee Ross 0-0 0-0 0, Jacob Peattie 0-0 0-0 0, Elliot Smith 2-4 2-2 7, Tannan Peters 0-1 3-4 3, Jared Treadway 0-0 0-0 0, Duke Johnson 7-12 2-3 16. Totals 26-53 23-30 84.
Three-point goals - Bethel 1 (Benner), Grace 9 (Henry 5, Grimm 3, Smith). Rebounds - Bethel 30 (Laidig 8), Grace 25 (Miller 6). Turnovers - Bethel 14, Grace 15. Fouls - Bethel 22, Grace 23. Fouled out - Bowerman, Welch. Record: Bethel 8-3, 0-2 MCC, Grace 7-1, 1-0 MCC
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