Lancers Beat League Foe Spring Arbor
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Josh Neuhart-
With the 13-point victory, the Lancers (19-6, 9-4 CL) moved into a three-way tie for second place in the league standings, setting up a pivotal matchup on Saturday at No. 13 St. Francis. Grace and USF are tied with Bethel for second place.
The Lancers host No. 7 Bethel in the regular-season finale on Feb. 21.
Grace used an efficient, balanced offense and a lockdown defense in the second half to pull out the convincing victory at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center Tuesday.
The Cougars started off the game on the better foot, opening a 7-2 lead after two minutes. It took Grace 10 minutes to tie the game at 20-20 after a pair of free throws from Caleb Featherston.
Back-to-back three-pointers helped the Cougars re-establish a six-point edge with less than seven minutes remaining in the half. Grace, however, ended the half on a blistering pace to take control of the contest.
The Lancers closed out the half on a 15-3 run to go ahead 37-31 at halftime. Featherston scored seven points during Grace’s spurt, and Adrian Makolli converted a tip-in basket to beat the halftime buzzer.
Both teams hit at least 50 percent of their field goals in the first 20 minutes of action.
Grace’s defense helped turn the tide in the Lancers’ favor for good to start the second half. Spring Arbor missed four field goals and had four turnovers over the first five minutes of the period. As a result, the Lancers built up a 47-33 lead. From the last six minutes of the first half through the first five minutes of the second half, Grace outscored Spring Arbor 25-5.
Three minutes later, the Cougars had clawed back to within nine points. But Grace scored on three of its next four possessions to claim a 15-point lead and never looked back, cruising to the 13-point win. Spring Arbor was held to 26 points in the second half, as the Cougars committed eight turnovers and grabbed just nine rebounds over the final 20 minutes.
Logan Irwin had scoring honors on the night with 15 points, hitting a trio of three-pointers, to go along with five assists, two steals and zero turnovers. Makolli had a career-high 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting, adding nine rebounds and two blocked shots.
Featherston finished with 11 points off the bench, and Brandon Vanderhegghen tallied eight points and four boards.
Overall, Grace had a 30-20 advantage in rebounding, including 17-9 in the second half. Grace also shot 50 percent from the floor.
Zach Medendorp led Spring Arbor with 14 points, while Caleb Hogans and Greg Hamilton scored 10 points each.
The Lancers’ game on Saturday at St. Francis is a doubleheader. The women’s Grace/USF game will tip off at 1 p.m. with the men’s game to follow at 3 p.m.[[In-content Ad]]
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With the 13-point victory, the Lancers (19-6, 9-4 CL) moved into a three-way tie for second place in the league standings, setting up a pivotal matchup on Saturday at No. 13 St. Francis. Grace and USF are tied with Bethel for second place.
The Lancers host No. 7 Bethel in the regular-season finale on Feb. 21.
Grace used an efficient, balanced offense and a lockdown defense in the second half to pull out the convincing victory at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center Tuesday.
The Cougars started off the game on the better foot, opening a 7-2 lead after two minutes. It took Grace 10 minutes to tie the game at 20-20 after a pair of free throws from Caleb Featherston.
Back-to-back three-pointers helped the Cougars re-establish a six-point edge with less than seven minutes remaining in the half. Grace, however, ended the half on a blistering pace to take control of the contest.
The Lancers closed out the half on a 15-3 run to go ahead 37-31 at halftime. Featherston scored seven points during Grace’s spurt, and Adrian Makolli converted a tip-in basket to beat the halftime buzzer.
Both teams hit at least 50 percent of their field goals in the first 20 minutes of action.
Grace’s defense helped turn the tide in the Lancers’ favor for good to start the second half. Spring Arbor missed four field goals and had four turnovers over the first five minutes of the period. As a result, the Lancers built up a 47-33 lead. From the last six minutes of the first half through the first five minutes of the second half, Grace outscored Spring Arbor 25-5.
Three minutes later, the Cougars had clawed back to within nine points. But Grace scored on three of its next four possessions to claim a 15-point lead and never looked back, cruising to the 13-point win. Spring Arbor was held to 26 points in the second half, as the Cougars committed eight turnovers and grabbed just nine rebounds over the final 20 minutes.
Logan Irwin had scoring honors on the night with 15 points, hitting a trio of three-pointers, to go along with five assists, two steals and zero turnovers. Makolli had a career-high 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting, adding nine rebounds and two blocked shots.
Featherston finished with 11 points off the bench, and Brandon Vanderhegghen tallied eight points and four boards.
Overall, Grace had a 30-20 advantage in rebounding, including 17-9 in the second half. Grace also shot 50 percent from the floor.
Zach Medendorp led Spring Arbor with 14 points, while Caleb Hogans and Greg Hamilton scored 10 points each.
The Lancers’ game on Saturday at St. Francis is a doubleheader. The women’s Grace/USF game will tip off at 1 p.m. with the men’s game to follow at 3 p.m.[[In-content Ad]]
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