Grace Men Survive Comeback Attempt
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
WINONA LAKE - On a night when two freshmen turned in career-best performances, a clutch play by a senior helped Grace College's men's basketball team pull out a victory Tuesday evening.
Leading visiting Taylor-Fort Wayne 75-71 with 23 seconds remaining, Lancer senior reserve player Scott Hamstra found an opening, drove to the basket and laid in a shot off the glass as he was fouled.
He then hit the free throw, converting a three-point play that was crucial down the stretch in the Lancers' 80-71 win.
"They backed off him," said veteran Grace coach Jim Kessler, who is now eight victories away from joining the 500-win club. "I was thankful Scott came to play. He's a good shooter. Seniors do things like that. He's earned the right to do that."
Freshman Marcus Moore, who scored Grace's first nine points of the game and finished with a team-high and career-best 20 points, converted two free throw attempts with 6.4 seconds left to account for the final score.
While Kessler was happy to survive and walk out of the gym with the victory, he wasn't happy with the way his team played against Taylor-Fort Wayne's eight-man squad.
In four previous meetings, the Falcons had never been within than fewer than 18 points of the Lancers at the final buzzer.
Tuesday evening, Grace led 75-62 when senior Andrew Kipsey made two free throws with 2:42 remaining, yet only led by four with 23 seconds left when Hamstra came through in the clutch.
"They're a scrappy bunch," Kessler said of the Falcons, who had six of its eight rostered players listed 6-foot-1 or smaller, while the Lancers' roster had five at 6-5 or taller. "We just quit playing smart basketball. We took questionable shots. We made questionable passes. We got Tim Bailey out there, who is 5 of 6, and we don't get him the ball. We just weren't playing smart basketball."
Grace turned the ball over 21 times, leading to 25 Taylor-Fort Wayne points. Fifteen of those turnovers were steals by the Falcons, who committed 15 turnovers, seven of which were steals by the Lancers.
Grace led by as much as 15, 66-51, when freshman Scott Moore made good on a field goal attempt, but the Falcons followed that up with a 9-0 run.
After Hamstra later hit a three-pointer to give the Lancers a 71-62 lead, Grace freshman Kyle Johnson blocked a Falcon shot, scooped it up and then converted a field goal attempt.
Two free throws by Kipsey gave the Lancers a 13-point lead, but the Falcons put together another 9-0 run as Grace committed turnovers and took what Kessler called "questionable shots and passes."
"We made 21 turnovers against a team that wasn't pressing us," said Kessler. "This team is better than that. Tonight we played our self, and self won. They (Taylor-Fort Wayne) are a scrappy little bunch. We didn't come with the maturity a seasoned team should have."
Grace improved to 4-1 with the win, while the Falcons fell to 0-4.
All totaled, Grace was 31 of 58 (53.4 percent) from the field, 6 of 16 (37.5 percent) from three-point range.
Taylor-Fort Wayne finished the game 28 of 62 (45.2 percent) from the field and 4 of 11 (36.4 percent) from three-point range.
Marcus Moore finished with 20 points and eight rebounds for Grace, while Johnson was 7 of 11 from the floor and had 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds and three blocked shots.
Hamstra and Bailey had 11 points each, while Kipsey finished with eight.
Kevin Woods led the Falcons with 18, while Pat Jessup and Isaac McClung had 16 each and David Gay 10.
The Lancers are in action Friday at Tri-State, and then again Saturday against Indiana Tech at Tri-State.
GRACE 80, TAYLOR-FORT WAYNE 71
Taylor-FW 31 40 - 71
Grace 42 38 - 80
Taylor-FW - Woods 8-11 2-2 18, McClung 6-12 2-3 16, Gay 4-12 2-2 10, Jessup 5-15 4-4 16, Strasser 0-0 0-0 0, Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Wilton 5-11 1-4 11, Waalen 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-62 11-15 71.
Grace - Stuckmeyer 0-1 1-2 1, Ritter 0-0 0-0 0, Snyder 0-2 0-1 0, S. Hamstra 4-5 1-1 11, M. Moore 6-10 6-6 20, Richmond 3-5 1-2 7, S. Moore 2-5 0-0 4, Johnson 7-11 0-2 14, Saunders 0-3 0-0 0, Bailey 5-6 1-2 11, J. Hamstra 1-2 0-0 2, Kipsey 2-6 2-2 8, Scott 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 31-58 12-18 80.
Three-point goals - Taylor-FW 4-11 (Jessup 2-6, McClung 2-2, Woods 0-3), Grace 6-16 (Kipsey 2-6, M. Moore 2-3, S. Hamstra 2-3, Richmond 0-2, S. Moore 0-2). Rebounds - Taylor-FW 28 (Wilton 9), Grace 39 (Johnson 9, M. Moore 8). Turnovers - Taylor-FW 15, Grace 21. Fouls - Taylor-FW 17, Grace 16. Fouled out - none. [[In-content Ad]]
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WINONA LAKE - On a night when two freshmen turned in career-best performances, a clutch play by a senior helped Grace College's men's basketball team pull out a victory Tuesday evening.
Leading visiting Taylor-Fort Wayne 75-71 with 23 seconds remaining, Lancer senior reserve player Scott Hamstra found an opening, drove to the basket and laid in a shot off the glass as he was fouled.
He then hit the free throw, converting a three-point play that was crucial down the stretch in the Lancers' 80-71 win.
"They backed off him," said veteran Grace coach Jim Kessler, who is now eight victories away from joining the 500-win club. "I was thankful Scott came to play. He's a good shooter. Seniors do things like that. He's earned the right to do that."
Freshman Marcus Moore, who scored Grace's first nine points of the game and finished with a team-high and career-best 20 points, converted two free throw attempts with 6.4 seconds left to account for the final score.
While Kessler was happy to survive and walk out of the gym with the victory, he wasn't happy with the way his team played against Taylor-Fort Wayne's eight-man squad.
In four previous meetings, the Falcons had never been within than fewer than 18 points of the Lancers at the final buzzer.
Tuesday evening, Grace led 75-62 when senior Andrew Kipsey made two free throws with 2:42 remaining, yet only led by four with 23 seconds left when Hamstra came through in the clutch.
"They're a scrappy bunch," Kessler said of the Falcons, who had six of its eight rostered players listed 6-foot-1 or smaller, while the Lancers' roster had five at 6-5 or taller. "We just quit playing smart basketball. We took questionable shots. We made questionable passes. We got Tim Bailey out there, who is 5 of 6, and we don't get him the ball. We just weren't playing smart basketball."
Grace turned the ball over 21 times, leading to 25 Taylor-Fort Wayne points. Fifteen of those turnovers were steals by the Falcons, who committed 15 turnovers, seven of which were steals by the Lancers.
Grace led by as much as 15, 66-51, when freshman Scott Moore made good on a field goal attempt, but the Falcons followed that up with a 9-0 run.
After Hamstra later hit a three-pointer to give the Lancers a 71-62 lead, Grace freshman Kyle Johnson blocked a Falcon shot, scooped it up and then converted a field goal attempt.
Two free throws by Kipsey gave the Lancers a 13-point lead, but the Falcons put together another 9-0 run as Grace committed turnovers and took what Kessler called "questionable shots and passes."
"We made 21 turnovers against a team that wasn't pressing us," said Kessler. "This team is better than that. Tonight we played our self, and self won. They (Taylor-Fort Wayne) are a scrappy little bunch. We didn't come with the maturity a seasoned team should have."
Grace improved to 4-1 with the win, while the Falcons fell to 0-4.
All totaled, Grace was 31 of 58 (53.4 percent) from the field, 6 of 16 (37.5 percent) from three-point range.
Taylor-Fort Wayne finished the game 28 of 62 (45.2 percent) from the field and 4 of 11 (36.4 percent) from three-point range.
Marcus Moore finished with 20 points and eight rebounds for Grace, while Johnson was 7 of 11 from the floor and had 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds and three blocked shots.
Hamstra and Bailey had 11 points each, while Kipsey finished with eight.
Kevin Woods led the Falcons with 18, while Pat Jessup and Isaac McClung had 16 each and David Gay 10.
The Lancers are in action Friday at Tri-State, and then again Saturday against Indiana Tech at Tri-State.
GRACE 80, TAYLOR-FORT WAYNE 71
Taylor-FW 31 40 - 71
Grace 42 38 - 80
Taylor-FW - Woods 8-11 2-2 18, McClung 6-12 2-3 16, Gay 4-12 2-2 10, Jessup 5-15 4-4 16, Strasser 0-0 0-0 0, Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Wilton 5-11 1-4 11, Waalen 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-62 11-15 71.
Grace - Stuckmeyer 0-1 1-2 1, Ritter 0-0 0-0 0, Snyder 0-2 0-1 0, S. Hamstra 4-5 1-1 11, M. Moore 6-10 6-6 20, Richmond 3-5 1-2 7, S. Moore 2-5 0-0 4, Johnson 7-11 0-2 14, Saunders 0-3 0-0 0, Bailey 5-6 1-2 11, J. Hamstra 1-2 0-0 2, Kipsey 2-6 2-2 8, Scott 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 31-58 12-18 80.
Three-point goals - Taylor-FW 4-11 (Jessup 2-6, McClung 2-2, Woods 0-3), Grace 6-16 (Kipsey 2-6, M. Moore 2-3, S. Hamstra 2-3, Richmond 0-2, S. Moore 0-2). Rebounds - Taylor-FW 28 (Wilton 9), Grace 39 (Johnson 9, M. Moore 8). Turnovers - Taylor-FW 15, Grace 21. Fouls - Taylor-FW 17, Grace 16. Fouled out - none. [[In-content Ad]]