WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace’s men’s basketball team produced a convincing 97-61 win over Goshen on Saturday.
The No. 1 Lancers extended their season-opening winning streak to 24, maintaining their stance as the only undefeated men’s college basketball team in America (24-0, 14-0 Crossroads League).
Grace was effective in most every metric, producing 29 assists on just 10 turnovers. The team shot 53 percent from the floor while outrebounding Goshen 49-33.
The Maple Leafs (0-24, 0-14 CL) were held to 37 percent shooting, including 3 of 18 from beyond the arc (17 percent).
Eleven players scored a point during Grace’s win despite no player seeing more than 21 minutes of action. Grace boasted a balanced scoring spread with seven players scoring between 7-16 points.
The Lancers scored the first six points of the game, including the first two baskets from Cade Gibbs.
The Maple Leafs battled back, however, climbing in front 17-16 thanks to a pair of 3-pointers.
Grace countered with eight straight points to take the lead for good. Brett Sickafoose and Brycen Graber each canned a triple to push Grace ahead.
The Lancers’ offense turned red-hot as the half continued. Grace roared ahead on the back of a furious 26-4 run, attacking in transition with great success.
Grace scored on nine straight possessions during the final stint, climbing in front by 27 after a fastbreak score from Jake Wadding.
The Lancers strolled into halftime with a formidable 50-24 lead. Grace shot 18 of 29 from the floor (62 percent) and made 5 of 10 from the 3-point arc.
Grace was never threatened in the second half. The lead eventually blossomed to 36 at 83-47 after the Lancers scored 11 straight points. Ian Scott, Ian Raasch and Gage Sefton combined for all of the points during the run.
The Lancers began to take out their starters with 12 minutes left in the game, going entirely to their bench with nine minutes to go.
Scott provided a late exclamation point with a 3-pointer and a pair of thunderous dunks.
Grace led by as many as 40 en route to the final 97-61 scoreline.
Cade Gibbs led Grace with 16 points and six rebounds in 21 minutes. Elijah Malone tallied 15 points, 8 boards, 3 assists and 2 blocks, and Scott racked up 15 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks in 18 minutes.
Graber nearly had a double-double with 9 points, 8 boards and 3 steals, and Carter Stoltzfus had 4 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 steals.
Raasch poured in 12 points in 12 minutes, Jakob Gibbs scored eight points, Wadding added 7 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, and Marcus Davidson had four points with one steal.
The Lancers are on the road on Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. meeting with Huntington.
Grace’s next home game is Saturday, Feb. 17, against rival Bethel. The women’s game will tip off at 1 p.m. with the men to follow at 3 p.m.

Career Day Leads Lady Lancers Past Maple Leafs
WINONA LAKE - Grace’s women’s basketball team got back in the win column, snapping a four-game skid with a resounding 74-49 victory over Goshen on Saturday afternoon.
The Lancers (12-12, 7-7 CL) never trailed in the ballgame on their way to completing the season sweep of the Maple Leafs (9-15, 4-10 CL).
Both teams got off to a slow start in the early moments of the game with only three field goals combined in the first five minutes of the game. Molly Long scored the first field goal of the game at the 8:29 mark.
Grace held a narrow lead before Goshen leveled the game at five apiece with 4:47 remaining in the first period. From there, the Lancers would take control of the game.
The home team rattled off six consecutive points, bookended by a pair of Kate Rulli buckets. Grace ratcheted up the defensive pressure, forcing three turnovers in the same span.
Kensie Ryman drained a 3-pointer down the stretch as the teams traded baskets to close out the first frame. Grace finished the quarter with a five point lead 16-11.
The second quarter is when the Lancers began to pull away. A trifecta from Morganne Howk and a layup from Peyton Murphy on the first two possessions pushed the lead to ten.
Goshen would cut the deficit to seven, but were forced to take a timeout after back-to-back triples from Kensie Ryman.
Murphy added another bucket to her total as part of the 9-0 run. In the final minute, Brooke Blaszczyk dropped in a 3-ball and Kensie Ryman beat the halftime whistle to go a perfect 4 for 4 from beyond the arc in the half.
Overall, the Lancers outscored the Maple Leafs 22-6 in the second period, taking an 18-point lead into the halftime intermission.
Goshen started out the third quarter with a field goal on its first three possessions to get within 14. That would be as close as they would get the rest of the way.
Maddie Ryman stopped the mini run with two baskets and a pair of free throws as part of another 9-0 run for the Lancers.
The Maple Leafs scored the final five points of the quarter to get the margin back to 18 heading into the fourth.
Grace’s lead hovered around 20 points for a majority of the final ten minutes before Murphy sparked a 10-0 run with a couple of hustle plays. First a second-chance bucket, then a chasedown block, followed by two free throws for the junior.
Howk added one from beyond the arc and a fastbreak bucket from Kensie Ryman gave Grace its largest lead of the day at 29 with 3:10 remaining in the game.
Bekah Marshall chipped in a pair of free throws to cap off the scoring down the stretch.
“It was great to see our ladies come out and play a solid game for 40 minutes,” said Grace head coach Dan Davis. “We wanted to play loose and free and be ourselves. We wanted to be active and aggressive on both ends of the floor and we did that tonight.”
Grace put forth a suffocating defensive effort, forcing the Maple Leafs into 25 turnovers in the game. The Maple Leafs were held to 36 percent from the field and 25 percent from range.
The Lancers held a considerable margin on the boards, nearly doubling Goshen’s output. Grace collected 22 offensive rebounds in the game.
Kensie Ryman had a career day with 22 points. She finished the game 6 for 10 with five from beyond the arc to go along with 3 steals and 2 assists.
Peyton Murphy made her presence known on both ends of the floor, finishing the game with 16 points, 9 boards, 5 assists and 4 steals. Morganne Howk was right behind with 15 points on 6 of 14 shooting.
“On the offensive end, we moved the ball around and shared the ball well,” added Davis. “We had great balance. We put an emphasis on getting to the offensive glass and to get 22 offensive rebounds is huge.”
With the win, the Lancers hold steady in a tie for fourth place in the Crossroads League standings with four games remaining in the regular season.
The Lancers will head down the road to Huntington on Feb. 14. Opening tip is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. with the men’s game to follow.