Lancers Respond To Loss With Blowout Win
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Dale [email protected]
Grace College's long-time men's basketball coach said he was more concerned with what his players were going to do than the Missouri Baptist Spartans.
A day after Kessler's Lancers lost to Holy Cross on a last-second three-pointer in the opening round of the annual Bennigan's/Optimist Hoops For Hope Tournament, they responded in a big way Saturday.
With five players scoring in double figures, Grace – ranked 16th in th NAIA Division II national poll – beat Missouri Baptist 109-72 in the consolation game of the four-team tournament at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.
“I didn't worry about a scouting report,” said Kessler, whose team is now 5-1 on the season. “This was more about us. This was about heart. I wanted to see how we responded. We looked like a completely different team than we did against Holy Cross.”
Grace got out to an early lead and had little trouble in handling the Spartan, an NAIA Division I team.
The Lancers, who shot 56 percent from the field in the win, led 60-28 at halfime.
“We played with heart,” said Kessler. “I’m proud of them. When we play collectively, we’re going to be a lot more successful. We played together today.”
Niko Read led the Lancers with a game-high 20 points, while Logan Irwin scored 16, Greg Miller added 15 and Kyle Fillman and Brock McFarland chipped in with 14 points each.
Irwin was 4 of 4 from three-point range Saturday, while Read was 4 of 8.
Read, a junior battled through injuries his first two years at Grace, has made at least three treys in each of the Lancers’ last five games.
“Niko has stepped up,” said Kessler. “He’s shooting the ball well. That was a question for us, who was going to step up and be a shooter this year.”
Read’s shooting touch this season has been exactly what the Lancers, who lost sharpshooter Elliot Smith to graduation, needed.
“He’s been hurt for two years,” Kessler said of Read. “He’s playing with confidence. He’s made some big shots for us.”
Read made a trio of three-pointers late in the first half Saturday, helping Grace extend its lead to 32 points by the intermission.
Brandon Vanderhegghen chipped in with nine points for Grace, while Adrian Makolli added six and Eric Miller and Caleb Featherston finished with five and four points, respectively.
Twelve different Lancers scored at least two points in the 37-point win.
“We were able to play a lot of guys,” said Kessler.
The high-octane Lancers have scored at least 87 points in each of their six games.
Grace is second in the nation in NAIA Division II in scoring at nearly 101 points per game.
Kalvin Lewis led the Spartans with 19 points, while Chris Buzzell added 16.
Jahmari Gordon and Corey McKinney chipped in with nine and eight points, respectively, for Missouri Baptist.
The Lancers are in action again Nov. 26 when they open Crossroads League play at Taylor University.
GRACE COLLEGE 109, MISSOURI BAPTIST 72
MB 28 44 – 72
GC 60 49 – 109
MB – Stanley Eboh 0-2 0-0 0, Kalvin Lewis 7-15 3-5 19, Corey McKinney 3-7 3-6 8, Logan Quinn 2-2 2-2 7, Chris Buzzell 4-9 6-6 16, Chad Smith 1-6 4-4 7, Jahmari Gordon 3-7 2-2 9, Julio Velandia 3-7 0-0 6. Totals 23-55 19-25 72.
Grace – Greg Miller 6-8 2-2 15, Kyle Fillman 5-9 4-4 14, Logan Irwin 6-7 0-0 16, Niko Read 6-11 4-4 20, Brandon Vanderhegghen 3-8 2-2 9, Morgan Michalski 0-1 0-0 0, Josh Silveus 0-0 0-0 0, Drew Perrin 0-2 2-2 2, Caleb Featherston 2-3 0-0 4, Brock McFarland 6-8 2-3 14, Tre Olive 0-2 2-2 2, Eric Miller 2-5 1-2 5, John Swanson 1-1 0-0 2, Sam Daniels 0-0 0-0 0, Macallister Seitz 0-2 0-0 0, Adrian Makolli 3-4 0-0 6. Totals 40-71 19-21 109.
Three-pointers – MB 7 (Lewis 2, Buzzell 2, Quinnn, Smith, Gordon), Grace 10 (Irwin 4, Read 4, Vanderhegghen, Miller); Rebounds – MB 24 (McKinney 5), Grace 40 (Fillman 7); Turnovers – MB 17, Grace 8[[In-content Ad]]
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Grace College's long-time men's basketball coach said he was more concerned with what his players were going to do than the Missouri Baptist Spartans.
A day after Kessler's Lancers lost to Holy Cross on a last-second three-pointer in the opening round of the annual Bennigan's/Optimist Hoops For Hope Tournament, they responded in a big way Saturday.
With five players scoring in double figures, Grace – ranked 16th in th NAIA Division II national poll – beat Missouri Baptist 109-72 in the consolation game of the four-team tournament at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.
“I didn't worry about a scouting report,” said Kessler, whose team is now 5-1 on the season. “This was more about us. This was about heart. I wanted to see how we responded. We looked like a completely different team than we did against Holy Cross.”
Grace got out to an early lead and had little trouble in handling the Spartan, an NAIA Division I team.
The Lancers, who shot 56 percent from the field in the win, led 60-28 at halfime.
“We played with heart,” said Kessler. “I’m proud of them. When we play collectively, we’re going to be a lot more successful. We played together today.”
Niko Read led the Lancers with a game-high 20 points, while Logan Irwin scored 16, Greg Miller added 15 and Kyle Fillman and Brock McFarland chipped in with 14 points each.
Irwin was 4 of 4 from three-point range Saturday, while Read was 4 of 8.
Read, a junior battled through injuries his first two years at Grace, has made at least three treys in each of the Lancers’ last five games.
“Niko has stepped up,” said Kessler. “He’s shooting the ball well. That was a question for us, who was going to step up and be a shooter this year.”
Read’s shooting touch this season has been exactly what the Lancers, who lost sharpshooter Elliot Smith to graduation, needed.
“He’s been hurt for two years,” Kessler said of Read. “He’s playing with confidence. He’s made some big shots for us.”
Read made a trio of three-pointers late in the first half Saturday, helping Grace extend its lead to 32 points by the intermission.
Brandon Vanderhegghen chipped in with nine points for Grace, while Adrian Makolli added six and Eric Miller and Caleb Featherston finished with five and four points, respectively.
Twelve different Lancers scored at least two points in the 37-point win.
“We were able to play a lot of guys,” said Kessler.
The high-octane Lancers have scored at least 87 points in each of their six games.
Grace is second in the nation in NAIA Division II in scoring at nearly 101 points per game.
Kalvin Lewis led the Spartans with 19 points, while Chris Buzzell added 16.
Jahmari Gordon and Corey McKinney chipped in with nine and eight points, respectively, for Missouri Baptist.
The Lancers are in action again Nov. 26 when they open Crossroads League play at Taylor University.
GRACE COLLEGE 109, MISSOURI BAPTIST 72
MB 28 44 – 72
GC 60 49 – 109
MB – Stanley Eboh 0-2 0-0 0, Kalvin Lewis 7-15 3-5 19, Corey McKinney 3-7 3-6 8, Logan Quinn 2-2 2-2 7, Chris Buzzell 4-9 6-6 16, Chad Smith 1-6 4-4 7, Jahmari Gordon 3-7 2-2 9, Julio Velandia 3-7 0-0 6. Totals 23-55 19-25 72.
Grace – Greg Miller 6-8 2-2 15, Kyle Fillman 5-9 4-4 14, Logan Irwin 6-7 0-0 16, Niko Read 6-11 4-4 20, Brandon Vanderhegghen 3-8 2-2 9, Morgan Michalski 0-1 0-0 0, Josh Silveus 0-0 0-0 0, Drew Perrin 0-2 2-2 2, Caleb Featherston 2-3 0-0 4, Brock McFarland 6-8 2-3 14, Tre Olive 0-2 2-2 2, Eric Miller 2-5 1-2 5, John Swanson 1-1 0-0 2, Sam Daniels 0-0 0-0 0, Macallister Seitz 0-2 0-0 0, Adrian Makolli 3-4 0-0 6. Totals 40-71 19-21 109.
Three-pointers – MB 7 (Lewis 2, Buzzell 2, Quinnn, Smith, Gordon), Grace 10 (Irwin 4, Read 4, Vanderhegghen, Miller); Rebounds – MB 24 (McKinney 5), Grace 40 (Fillman 7); Turnovers – MB 17, Grace 8[[In-content Ad]]
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