WINONA LAKE - Grace College's men's basketball team rebounded from a disappointing loss in the opening round of NCCAA Nationals, taking down Simpson 83-77 on Thursday.
After falling into the consolation bracket with a loss to Dallas Baptist on Wednesday night, Grace bounced back with an offensive eruption against Simpson. The Lancers (23-12) hit 52 percent of their field goals, including 59 percent in the second half.
Brandon Vanderhegghen led Grace in scoring with 21 points, hitting 7 of 13 from the floor to go along with six assists and three rebounds. Adrian Makolli had a career day with 18 points and 12 rebounds. He made 8 of 10 shots and also swatted four shots.
The Lancers will conclude the season on Friday at 5 p.m. in the fifth-place game of NCCAA Nationals against Cincinnati Christian University.
Grace seemed in control to start the game, easing ahead 17-10. The Lancers buried a trio of three-pointers in the first five minutes to key its offense.
The Red Hawks (18-17) recovered and led by four with less than two minutes to go in the half. Grace made a late push to regain the lead at 37-35 entering halftime. Makolli scored 10 points in the first half, including the last-second tip-in before the halftime buzzer.
Simpson continued to hold a slight lead over Grace with a 46-41 advantage with 15:41 remaining, but Grace went on a game-changing run and never looked back.
The Lancers rattled off an incredible 18-0 charge over the next four minutes, flipping a five-point deficit into a 13-point lead. Grace never trailed for the rest of the game and held off a late rally from Simpson for the six-point win.
Logan Irwin added 14 points, five assists and five rebounds, and Chad Hoffer scored nine points off the bench for the Lancers.