No. 1 Bethel Too Much For Grace Men
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
MISHAWAKA - When talking about basketball games, Grace coach Jim Kessler likes to have statistics in hand. He looks at the stat sheet and usually can point to three or four areas that determine the outcome of a game.
After his Lancers lost 81-67 to No. 1 (NAIA Div. II) Bethel Tuesday, he pointed to only one area. The turnovers read - "Grace 25, Bethel 9."
"We spotted them 16 possessions," Kessler said. "It was one glaring factor. That is the game. If we had an even number of possessions, who knows? It is almost impossible odds to overcome. It comes down to how many chances you get."
The aggressive and quick Pilot defense came up with 16 steals and converted 29 points off of Lancer turnovers. Ryan Bales led the way with six steals for Bethel, while Michael Edison added four. Bethel attempted 72 shots, while Grace could get only off 51.
Other than that one area, Kessler was very happy about how his young Lancers performed against the defending NAIA Div. II champions. The Pilots, playing their third game in their new Wiekamp Center, are on a roll, having won 17 straight and lead the Mid-Central Conference with a 7-0 mark.
"These young guys weren't intimidated at all," Kessler said. "We didn't want to play on our heels, we wanted to be aggressive. If you do that, and you get beat because your opponent hits some big shots, then so be it."
Grace trailed 60-42 midway through the second half when the Lancers put on an 11-0 spurt to cut the margin to 60-53 on a three-pointer by freshman Ben Tonagel. The Pilots, unfortunately for the Lancers, answered with big shots from Ryan Watson and Jeff Hobson and pushed the lead back to double digits and never looked back.
"You are dealing with a veteran team (in Bethel) and the diaper dandies (in Grace)," Kessler said. "They made big things happen. They had to step up. But we didn't fold either and go out the door."
After reviewing the stats further, Kessler then saw how his Lancers outrebounded the Pilots 36-29 and forced Bethel into 8-of-31 shooting from its favorite area - the three-point arc. Overall, Bethel hit on 33 of 72 (46 percent) from the field, while the Lancers were 23 of 51 (45 percent).
"I thought the zone gave them some trouble," Kessler said. "I don't think they were expecting it because we hadn't thrown that at anybody. They made some adjustments at halftime and were more effective on the baseline."
Those adjustments mostly benefited Eric Brand, who scored 22 points on the Lancers and hit on 9 of 12 from the field.
"Brand was just a man-mountain inside for them," Kessler said.
In the first half, the Lancers trailed 21-19 when the Pilots got hot and pushed the lead to 35-25 and eventually 44-29 at halftime.
Grace (9-15, 2-5) is at Marian Saturday. Bethel improves to 22-2 on the season. [[In-content Ad]]
MISHAWAKA - When talking about basketball games, Grace coach Jim Kessler likes to have statistics in hand. He looks at the stat sheet and usually can point to three or four areas that determine the outcome of a game.
After his Lancers lost 81-67 to No. 1 (NAIA Div. II) Bethel Tuesday, he pointed to only one area. The turnovers read - "Grace 25, Bethel 9."
"We spotted them 16 possessions," Kessler said. "It was one glaring factor. That is the game. If we had an even number of possessions, who knows? It is almost impossible odds to overcome. It comes down to how many chances you get."
The aggressive and quick Pilot defense came up with 16 steals and converted 29 points off of Lancer turnovers. Ryan Bales led the way with six steals for Bethel, while Michael Edison added four. Bethel attempted 72 shots, while Grace could get only off 51.
Other than that one area, Kessler was very happy about how his young Lancers performed against the defending NAIA Div. II champions. The Pilots, playing their third game in their new Wiekamp Center, are on a roll, having won 17 straight and lead the Mid-Central Conference with a 7-0 mark.
"These young guys weren't intimidated at all," Kessler said. "We didn't want to play on our heels, we wanted to be aggressive. If you do that, and you get beat because your opponent hits some big shots, then so be it."
Grace trailed 60-42 midway through the second half when the Lancers put on an 11-0 spurt to cut the margin to 60-53 on a three-pointer by freshman Ben Tonagel. The Pilots, unfortunately for the Lancers, answered with big shots from Ryan Watson and Jeff Hobson and pushed the lead back to double digits and never looked back.
"You are dealing with a veteran team (in Bethel) and the diaper dandies (in Grace)," Kessler said. "They made big things happen. They had to step up. But we didn't fold either and go out the door."
After reviewing the stats further, Kessler then saw how his Lancers outrebounded the Pilots 36-29 and forced Bethel into 8-of-31 shooting from its favorite area - the three-point arc. Overall, Bethel hit on 33 of 72 (46 percent) from the field, while the Lancers were 23 of 51 (45 percent).
"I thought the zone gave them some trouble," Kessler said. "I don't think they were expecting it because we hadn't thrown that at anybody. They made some adjustments at halftime and were more effective on the baseline."
Those adjustments mostly benefited Eric Brand, who scored 22 points on the Lancers and hit on 9 of 12 from the field.
"Brand was just a man-mountain inside for them," Kessler said.
In the first half, the Lancers trailed 21-19 when the Pilots got hot and pushed the lead to 35-25 and eventually 44-29 at halftime.
Grace (9-15, 2-5) is at Marian Saturday. Bethel improves to 22-2 on the season. [[In-content Ad]]