Lancers Upset No. 16 Cornerstone
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
WINONA LAKE - The Grace College men's basketball team overcame a 12-point second half deficit and outscored Cornerstone 12-2 in overtime to defeat the No. 16 team in the country 83-73 Saturday at the Warsaw Optimist KCCCF Classic Saturday afternoon.
The victory avenges a five-point loss to Cornerstone earlier in the year and snaps a five-game losing streak to the Golden Eagles, dating back to a 97-65 win over Grand Rapids Baptist (before an institutional name change) during the 1991-92 season.
Cornerstone capped off an eight-point run midway through the second half with a thunderous John Jonker dunk to put the Golden Eagles ahead 58-46 with 9:50 to play in the game. But Jonker got called for a technical foul for hanging on the rim and, what could have become a nail in the Lancers' coffin, became new life.
Jeff Hamstra connected on both of the technical free throws to start a 15-3 Grace run in which the Lancers eventually tied the score at 61 on two Scott Moore free-throws with 6:35 to play. Neither team could build a lead larger than two points the rest of the way and Moore's contested shot as regulation time ran out fell short to send the game to overtime.
In the overtime session, Hamstra stepped up in a big way. He scored on Grace's first possession, assisted a basket on the Lancers' second possession, and followed that up by taking a charge. Grace scored the first five points of the overtime period and outscored Cornerstone 12-2 in the final five minutes to get the win.
"Jeff is trying to lead by being assertive," Grace head coach Jim Kessler said. "If we're going to go down, we want to go down swinging, not taking pitches."
Assertiveness was an emphasis for the Lancers following a pair of losses in which Grace had opportunities to win each of the past two contests (against Huntington and Indiana Tech) but struggled down the stretch in each game.
"I would rather us lose because we tried to make something happen, rather than being conservative and sitting back on our heels," Kessler said. "We challenged them to step up and do what they need to do."
Scott Moore was one player who Kessler pointed out as taking that point to heart. In the last two losses, Moore had only three points on eight shots combined. Against Cornerstone, he finished with 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting and added six assists, five rebounds and four steals.
His brother, Marcus Moore, ended with a game-high 24 points and added five rebounds, five assists and three steals. But there were times at critical junctures when Moore was on the bench, giving other players opportunities to step up and make things happen.
"We try to give all of our guys a rest," Kessler said. "With Marcus, the other team focuses so hard on defending him that sometimes they forget about him just a bit when he comes back onto the court after a break."
Dave Richmond was the only other Lancer to finish in double figures, scoring 11 points and grabbing five rebounds. Hamstra ended with eight points and a team-high six rebounds, while Ben Snyder had eight points and five rebounds as well, playing a career-high 38 minutes.
Grace (9-5) will be off for 18 days before playing in the Clarke College Tournament. The Lancers will meet Mid-America Nazarene in the opening round on December 28 at 3 p.m. Mid-America Nazarene advanced to the second round of the NAIA National Tournament a year ago, defeating Taylor in the opening round.
GRACE 83, CORNERSTONE 73 (OT)
C 38 33 2 - 73
G 32 39 12 - 83
Cornerstone - DeSantis 1-3 0-0 2, Bronkema 2-5 1-2 7, Cochran 8-15 3-3 20, Olds 2-4 2-3 7, Cameron 1-6 3-4 5, Liggins 3-6 0-0 6, Jonker 5-11 6-10 16, Snikkers 4-9 0-0 10. Totals 26-59 15-22 73.
Grace - Snyder 2-4 2-2 8, M. Moore 8-17 7-9 24, Richmond 4-11 2-2 11, S. Moore 8-10 3-4 21, Winkleman 0-1 0-0 0, Hamstra 2-7 3-4 8, Gaff 2-3 1-2 5, Wienhorst 2-3 2-4 6. Totals 28-56 20-27 83.
Three-point goals - Cornerstone 6-18 (Snikkers 2-4, Bronkema 2-4, Cochran 1-3, Olds 1-2), Grace 7-19 (Snyder 2-4, M. Moore 1-6, Richmond 1-2, S. Moore 2-2, Hamstra 1-5). Team fouls - Cornerstone 31, Grace 20. Fouled out - Liggins (Cornerstone). Rebounds - Cornerstone 27 (Jonker 6), Grace 41 (Hamstra 6). Assists -Ê8 (Jonker 3), Grace 19 (S. Moore 6). Turnovers - Cornerstone 15, Grace 20. [[In-content Ad]]
WINONA LAKE - The Grace College men's basketball team overcame a 12-point second half deficit and outscored Cornerstone 12-2 in overtime to defeat the No. 16 team in the country 83-73 Saturday at the Warsaw Optimist KCCCF Classic Saturday afternoon.
The victory avenges a five-point loss to Cornerstone earlier in the year and snaps a five-game losing streak to the Golden Eagles, dating back to a 97-65 win over Grand Rapids Baptist (before an institutional name change) during the 1991-92 season.
Cornerstone capped off an eight-point run midway through the second half with a thunderous John Jonker dunk to put the Golden Eagles ahead 58-46 with 9:50 to play in the game. But Jonker got called for a technical foul for hanging on the rim and, what could have become a nail in the Lancers' coffin, became new life.
Jeff Hamstra connected on both of the technical free throws to start a 15-3 Grace run in which the Lancers eventually tied the score at 61 on two Scott Moore free-throws with 6:35 to play. Neither team could build a lead larger than two points the rest of the way and Moore's contested shot as regulation time ran out fell short to send the game to overtime.
In the overtime session, Hamstra stepped up in a big way. He scored on Grace's first possession, assisted a basket on the Lancers' second possession, and followed that up by taking a charge. Grace scored the first five points of the overtime period and outscored Cornerstone 12-2 in the final five minutes to get the win.
"Jeff is trying to lead by being assertive," Grace head coach Jim Kessler said. "If we're going to go down, we want to go down swinging, not taking pitches."
Assertiveness was an emphasis for the Lancers following a pair of losses in which Grace had opportunities to win each of the past two contests (against Huntington and Indiana Tech) but struggled down the stretch in each game.
"I would rather us lose because we tried to make something happen, rather than being conservative and sitting back on our heels," Kessler said. "We challenged them to step up and do what they need to do."
Scott Moore was one player who Kessler pointed out as taking that point to heart. In the last two losses, Moore had only three points on eight shots combined. Against Cornerstone, he finished with 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting and added six assists, five rebounds and four steals.
His brother, Marcus Moore, ended with a game-high 24 points and added five rebounds, five assists and three steals. But there were times at critical junctures when Moore was on the bench, giving other players opportunities to step up and make things happen.
"We try to give all of our guys a rest," Kessler said. "With Marcus, the other team focuses so hard on defending him that sometimes they forget about him just a bit when he comes back onto the court after a break."
Dave Richmond was the only other Lancer to finish in double figures, scoring 11 points and grabbing five rebounds. Hamstra ended with eight points and a team-high six rebounds, while Ben Snyder had eight points and five rebounds as well, playing a career-high 38 minutes.
Grace (9-5) will be off for 18 days before playing in the Clarke College Tournament. The Lancers will meet Mid-America Nazarene in the opening round on December 28 at 3 p.m. Mid-America Nazarene advanced to the second round of the NAIA National Tournament a year ago, defeating Taylor in the opening round.
GRACE 83, CORNERSTONE 73 (OT)
C 38 33 2 - 73
G 32 39 12 - 83
Cornerstone - DeSantis 1-3 0-0 2, Bronkema 2-5 1-2 7, Cochran 8-15 3-3 20, Olds 2-4 2-3 7, Cameron 1-6 3-4 5, Liggins 3-6 0-0 6, Jonker 5-11 6-10 16, Snikkers 4-9 0-0 10. Totals 26-59 15-22 73.
Grace - Snyder 2-4 2-2 8, M. Moore 8-17 7-9 24, Richmond 4-11 2-2 11, S. Moore 8-10 3-4 21, Winkleman 0-1 0-0 0, Hamstra 2-7 3-4 8, Gaff 2-3 1-2 5, Wienhorst 2-3 2-4 6. Totals 28-56 20-27 83.
Three-point goals - Cornerstone 6-18 (Snikkers 2-4, Bronkema 2-4, Cochran 1-3, Olds 1-2), Grace 7-19 (Snyder 2-4, M. Moore 1-6, Richmond 1-2, S. Moore 2-2, Hamstra 1-5). Team fouls - Cornerstone 31, Grace 20. Fouled out - Liggins (Cornerstone). Rebounds - Cornerstone 27 (Jonker 6), Grace 41 (Hamstra 6). Assists -Ê8 (Jonker 3), Grace 19 (S. Moore 6). Turnovers - Cornerstone 15, Grace 20. [[In-content Ad]]