Swanson Leads Grace Men To Win
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Dale [email protected]
On a day Grace honored graduated first-team All-America player Eric Gaff, who anchored the Lancers' frontline last season by averaging 21 points and 12 rebounds per contest, Swanson stepped up his game and led the Lancers to a 77-61 homecoming win over Ohio University-Eastern.[[In-content Ad]]"Swanny stepped up and had a great game, especially in the second half," Grace head coach Jim Kessler said of his 6-foot-6 senior post player, who was 11 of 15 from the field and finished with a team-high 26 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. "He also had to guard a really good player. That's what you ask your seniors to do, step up and lead the team. Swanny showed his maturity today."
Swanson, who scored 19 points and pulled down seven rebounds in an exhibition game against the Indiana Hoosiers Wednesday night, also finished Saturday's regular-season opener with three blocked shots and a pair of steals.
"Swanny put up big numbers for us last year, too, he was just one of those overlooked kids because we had Eric Gaff," said Kessler. "He had a big game the other night against Big Ten team. He's definitely going to be one of our leaders this year."
Apparently so are freshmen guards Elliot Smith and Daniel Goins, both of whom finished their first collegiate regular season game with 11 points.
Smith, who started the game, also added three rebounds, a pair of assists and a steal, while Goins came off the bench and also contributed with four rebounds, three steals and two assists.
"Elliot Smith his hit some big shots to keep our momentum going," said Kessler. "He is absolutely a winner in every way."
In all, Grace's freshmen class produced 37 points Saturday.
"We played a lot of freshmen," said Kessler, whose team plays at Indiana Tech Tuesday at 7 p.m. "They're going to have to get some experience fast."
Freshmen Jordan Hoffman, Lee Ross and Nathany VanDuyne scored six, five and four points, respectively.
Junior David Henry contributed with six points, three rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.
Grace trailed the Panthers 15-12 in the first half, but then used a 15-4 run to get control of the game.
Ohio-Eastern cut the Lancers' lead to one, 38-37, early in the second half, but the home team responded with an 8-0 run.
With 7:00 remanining in the game, a three-pointer by Smith gave the Lancers a 61-44 advantage.
With just over three minutes to play, a bucket by Swanson pushed Grace's lead to 70-49.
And moments later, a three-pointer by Ross gave the Lancers a commanding 77-53 lead.
The Panthers scored the final eight points of the game to cut the final deficit to 16 points.
Grace finshed the game 29 of 57 (52 percent) from the field and outrebounded the Panthers 40-32, but Kessler wasn't happy about his team's 21 turnovers.
"We took 57 shots and we had 21 turnovers," said Kessler. "We have to execute better than that. We've got to play better than that at Indiana Tech."
Jason Shaw led Ohio-Eastern with 27 points, while Dan Milleson added nine points and Steve Luckhardt, Zach Tolzda and Carter Baldwin chipped in with seven points each.
On a day Grace honored graduated first-team All-America player Eric Gaff, who anchored the Lancers' frontline last season by averaging 21 points and 12 rebounds per contest, Swanson stepped up his game and led the Lancers to a 77-61 homecoming win over Ohio University-Eastern.[[In-content Ad]]"Swanny stepped up and had a great game, especially in the second half," Grace head coach Jim Kessler said of his 6-foot-6 senior post player, who was 11 of 15 from the field and finished with a team-high 26 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. "He also had to guard a really good player. That's what you ask your seniors to do, step up and lead the team. Swanny showed his maturity today."
Swanson, who scored 19 points and pulled down seven rebounds in an exhibition game against the Indiana Hoosiers Wednesday night, also finished Saturday's regular-season opener with three blocked shots and a pair of steals.
"Swanny put up big numbers for us last year, too, he was just one of those overlooked kids because we had Eric Gaff," said Kessler. "He had a big game the other night against Big Ten team. He's definitely going to be one of our leaders this year."
Apparently so are freshmen guards Elliot Smith and Daniel Goins, both of whom finished their first collegiate regular season game with 11 points.
Smith, who started the game, also added three rebounds, a pair of assists and a steal, while Goins came off the bench and also contributed with four rebounds, three steals and two assists.
"Elliot Smith his hit some big shots to keep our momentum going," said Kessler. "He is absolutely a winner in every way."
In all, Grace's freshmen class produced 37 points Saturday.
"We played a lot of freshmen," said Kessler, whose team plays at Indiana Tech Tuesday at 7 p.m. "They're going to have to get some experience fast."
Freshmen Jordan Hoffman, Lee Ross and Nathany VanDuyne scored six, five and four points, respectively.
Junior David Henry contributed with six points, three rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.
Grace trailed the Panthers 15-12 in the first half, but then used a 15-4 run to get control of the game.
Ohio-Eastern cut the Lancers' lead to one, 38-37, early in the second half, but the home team responded with an 8-0 run.
With 7:00 remanining in the game, a three-pointer by Smith gave the Lancers a 61-44 advantage.
With just over three minutes to play, a bucket by Swanson pushed Grace's lead to 70-49.
And moments later, a three-pointer by Ross gave the Lancers a commanding 77-53 lead.
The Panthers scored the final eight points of the game to cut the final deficit to 16 points.
Grace finshed the game 29 of 57 (52 percent) from the field and outrebounded the Panthers 40-32, but Kessler wasn't happy about his team's 21 turnovers.
"We took 57 shots and we had 21 turnovers," said Kessler. "We have to execute better than that. We've got to play better than that at Indiana Tech."
Jason Shaw led Ohio-Eastern with 27 points, while Dan Milleson added nine points and Steve Luckhardt, Zach Tolzda and Carter Baldwin chipped in with seven points each.
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