WINONA LAKE - Grace’s men’s basketball team completed its opening weekend with another victory on Saturday.
The No. 2 Lancers (2-0) took care of Madonna 89-66 at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center, scoring 50 points after halftime in an impressive performance.
True to their style, the Lancers put five players in double digits for points, led by an efficient 19 points from Elijah Malone.
The teams battled fiercely throughout the first half. The lead changed hands 10 times.
Midway into the half, Grace opened up a slight six-point edge on the back of seven quick points from Jakob Gibbs.
The Crusaders (1-1) quickly pulled within one, but the Lancers ended the half on a strong note.
Jakob Gibbs buried two 3-pointers over the final three minutes of the half, the last of which propelled the Lancers ahead 39-29.
Grace held a 39-31 advantage as the game reached halftime. Gibbs led all players with 15 points in the half thanks to a trio of triples.
Grace shot 53 percent from the floor and turned the ball over just four times. Madonna was held to 39 percent shooting but made five 3-pointers to stay within range.
Almost immediately to begin the second half, Grace erupted on a 17-2 run to seize control. Malone ripped off nine points during that span, including a dunk and a triple.
A 3-pointer from Brycen Graber put Grace on top 56-35 with 15 minutes remaining.
Grace’s cushion hovered around 20 for most of the half. The Crusaders made their best push with nine minutes to play, trimming Grace’s margin down to 14 at 65-51.
But the Lancers promptly answered with seven unanswered points — five of which came from Cade Gibbs.
The Lancers eventually extended their lead to 27 with a few minutes remaining and coasted to the final 23-point margin of victory.
Grace shot 54 percent from the floor while holding Madonna to 38 percent. Grace also committed just 12 turnovers and amassed 24 assists.
Malone’s 19 points came with six rebounds and two assists; he shot 7 of 10 from the floor and made all four of his free throws.
Jakob Gibbs shot 7 of 11 from the floor (4 of 6 on 3s) for his 18 points, and Cade Gibbs tallied 17 points and seven boards.
Jake Wadding produced a double-double with 10 points, 10 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals, and Ian Scott had 11 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.
Graber scored eight points to go along with three assists, Ian Raasch scored four points off the bench, and Carter Stoltzfus tallied five assists with four steals.
Next up, the Lancers head to West Lafayette, Ind., for one of the most high-profile games in program history. Grace will play NCAA Div. I powerhouse Purdue (currently ranked No. 3 in the NCAA) at Mackey Arena on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. exhibition.

Lady Lancers Storm Back For Season Opening Win
RICHMOND, Ind. - Grace College’s women’s basketball team picked up its first win of the season in dramatic fashion with a 72-70 victory over IU East on Saturday afternoon.
Things looked dire for the Lancers as they trailed by 15 points with just 8:14 remaining in the fourth quarter. Grace didn’t roll over however, as the Lancers went on a 16-0 run and Maddie Ryman iced the game at the free-throw line to secure the win.
Freshman Morganne Houk, who had a dazzling debut, got the Lancers started offensively with a 3-point basket on Grace's first possession of the game.
The Lancers faced an early four-point deficit, but an 11-0 run capped by a Kensie Ryman layup saw the Lancers jump ahead 18-11.
Maddie Ryman led Grace offensively with 10 first quarter points as the Lancers 22-15 after the first stanza.
In the second quarter, Grace saw its lead grow to as many as 9 points before going ice cold from the field. The Lancers ended the half missing their final seven shots, and turned the ball over six times.
Grace shot just 11 percent from the field in the second quarter, and at the half the Red Wolves led 30-28.
The Lancers were tenacious on the boards and it paid off early in the second half. Kaylee Patton took advantage of a pair of Peyton Murphy offensive rebounds to draw Grace even with IU East.
The Red Wolves offensive fire-power was too much for the Lancers to match in the quarter as IU East began to widen the margin.
After falling behind by 13 points, a pair of Kensie Ryman free-throws and a basket from Houk pulled Grace back within single digits, but a late 3-pointer pushed the deficit back to 12.
The deficit reached its widest mark of 15 points with 8:15 left in the quarter before the Lancers began their furious run.
Maddie Ryman got the comeback started with a basket in the paint, and then Murphy rattled off five quick points to pull Grace back within 8 points.
Kaylee Patton completed an and-1 basket and Houk converted a tough layup which prompted a timeout from the Red Wolves coach. In less than three minutes of game time, Grace had cut the deficit down by 12-points.
Two-more Murphy free-throws and another basket from Houk pushed Grace ahead with 4:27 left.
The teams traded the lead back-and-forth and with 27 seconds left Grace trailed by one.
On Grace’s ensuing possession Maddie Ryman missed the go-ahead shot, but got her own rebound and was fouled to her to the charity stripe. The senior calmy sank both shots to put Grace ahead for good.
Murphy added another free throw to put the finishing touches on the 72-20 victory.
"We found a way to win today," said Grace head coach Dan Davis. "We struggled a little bit in the second and third quarters, but we showed a lot of grit and toughness to get a road win. Proud of the girls for grinding one out to start the season."
Maddie Ryman finished the game with 19 points and eight rebounds. Murphy had an eye-popping stat line of 18 points, 14 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks.
Houk had 18 points and seven rebounds in her first collegiate action.
Grace finished the game 33 percent from the floor, 22 percent from beyond the arc and 62 percent from the charity stripe. IU East 38, 26, and 54 percent in the same categories.
The Lancers next action will be the season opener on November 7th at 7 p.m. against Roosevelt.

Men’s Soccer Drops CL Finale To Pilots
WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace College’s men’s soccer team dropped the regular season finale to Bethel 1-0 on Saturday night.
The Lancers (13-3-1, 7-1-1 Crossroads League) will now turn their attention towards the postseason, which will begin with the conference tournament on Saturday. Grace will play host Taylor at 5 p.m.
Saturday’s highly anticipated game featured two top-10 teams from the NAIA, and the two top teams from the Crossroads league. The game also acted as the Crossroads League Championship game, with the winner of Saturday’s tilt claiming the regular season title.
From the opening kickoff the intensity of the game matched the stakes of what awaited the winner of the contest.
The Lancers controlled the majority of possession early, but the Pilots were clinical on their counter-attack, creating a pair of early scoring chances.
Martim Sequeira had a dangerous scoring chance for the Lancers, but his chance from the top of the box was knocked down and covered by the Bethel keeper.
Moments later the Pilots drew first blood.
Bethel’s marker came on a quick counter-attack that saw the ball travel the length of the pitch in a matter of seconds. A long crossing pass was put in goal by a Pilot player who used his body to score the go-ahead goal.
Grace responded with vigor following the Bethel goal as the game progressed at a frenzied pace.
The Lancers pressure ended with Grace being awarded a set-piece opportunity but the crossing attempt was pushed wide on a headed attempt. The Lancers had another set-piece opportunity, but again the chance went harmlessly wide.
With 11:45 left it appeared as if Bethel had doubled their lead off of a free-kick, but the goal was waved off due to a Bethel player being offside.
Just before the intermission the Lancers swarmed with offensive attack, but were unable to bury the equalizer and went into the half down 1-0.
The Lancers had a 7-4 shot and 1-0 corner kick advantage.
In the second half the Lancers started aggressively as they fervently searched for their first goal of the match.
Once again the Pilots found success on the counter-attack and nearly added to their lead, but Matteo Conci was alert and pushed away a shot that was heading to the near side of the net.
The Lancers kept the pressure up as the chances started to mount.
Sequeira had a free-kick smother by the Bethel keeper and Lee Seongwhi had his chances turned away as well.
Dan Allen nearly equalized the game with 12:52 remaining but the Bethel keeper made a diving save to preserve his shutout.
Juan Garcia played a pass into the box that took a deflection off of a Bethel player and seemed as if it might find its way into goal, but at the last second the Pilots’ goalie swept it off the line.
The final moments of the game ended with waves of Grace players rushing forward to join the attack, but the Lancers were unable to find a goal, dropping the contest 1-0.
At the final horn Grace had a 14-12 shot advantage and 6-2 corner kick advantage. Both teams were whistled for 15 fouls.

Felger's Strike Sinks Pilots
MISHAWAKA, Ind. - A first-half goal from a freshman lifted Grace’s women’s soccer team past Bethel 1-0 on Saturday.
Cassidy Felger provided the game winner, scoring in the 36th minute to push the Lancers past the Pilots on the road.
Grace will now turn its attention to next week’s Crossroads League Tournament. Grace, as the seventh seed in the tourney, will play at second-seeded Indiana Wesleyan on Nov. 4. The two teams played to a 1-1 draw during the regular season.
The Pilots did their best to claim an early lead on Saturday. Bethel tried four shots to go along with three corner kicks in the opening 15 minutes.
But Grace’s defense held firm to keep the Pilots off the scoreboard.
As the half continued, Grace’s chances became more and more dangerous.
The Lancers’ first shot came 12 minutes into the match. Rylee Burns tried a shot on a counterattack that rolled just wide of the far post.
Grace had two shots in the penalty box saved, including an attempt from Ellie Grieser and a 1-on-1 from Rosalie Gefrorer.
The breakthrough came with 10 minutes to go before halftime. Felger and Gefrorer used a quick give-and-go pass to put Felger into an attacking position. Felger took care of the rest, muscling through a pair of Pilot defenders and slashing her shot inside the far post.
The Lancers seemed confident to begin the second half; the young squad possessed the ball with composure. Grace’s possession seemed to frustrate the Pilots as Bethel’s only stats during a 20-minute span were fouls.
The Pilots picked up a yellow card, stopping a breakaway from Grace. The card would later be compounded.
Bethel was issued a second yellow card 20 minutes later, resulting in the Lancers having a player advantage for the rest of the match.
On the ensuing free kick, Felger tried a shot that forced a diving save. Grace then missed on the rebound in the box to keep the score 1-0.
A few minutes later, Abby Hodkin let a deep shot sail toward the Pilots’ goal, but the goalkeeper made a leaping stab to punch the ball over the crossbar.
The rest of the match continued to belong to Grace. Bethel managed just one shot attempt over the final 35 minutes of the game as the Lancers secured the 1-0 win.
Sofia Williams made four saves to preserve the clean sheet. It marks Grace’s fifth shutout of the season and third in the last five matches.
Grace finished the match with 15 shots and 11 of those being on frame. Bethel tried 10 shots with four on target. Grace also amassed 10 corner kicks.