WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace’s men’s basketball game on Saturday had the feel of a coronation.
The Lancers rolled Mt. Vernon Nazarene 100-77 in the regular season finale.
The win, which was also on Senior Day, made Grace the undisputed regular season champions of the Crossroads League for the second year in a row.
Grace finished the regular season with a record of 27-1, the best regular-season mark in team history. The Lancers went 17-1 in league play, two games ahead of second-place IWU. It represents Grace’s best conference record in terms of most wins and best winning percentage in the Lancers’ 67-year history.
The Lancers will now transition to the postseason. As the No. 1 seed in the conference, Grace will host a game in the CL Tournament as long as they win. The quarterfinals are at home on Wednesday against Taylor at 7 p.m. The semifinals will be three days later on Saturday. The championship is set for Tuesday, March 5.
Grace began Saturday’s game on a strong note. The Lancers scored on their first three possessions, including scores from Elijah Malone, Jakob Gibbs and Cade Gibbs.
Before seven minutes had expired, Grace had opened up a 20-12 lead. Malone scored 11 points during the opening stretch; he feasted on his usual diet of powerful dunks and clinical finishes at the rim as well as a 3-pointer sprinkled in.
Midway through the half, Grace used an 11-2 run to charge in front 35-16. All of Grace’s points were scored by the team’s second unit.
But the Cougars were not ready to fade. MVNU got hot from the 3-point line, hitting four triples in the span of a few minutes to eat into Grace’s lead.
The Lancers’ cushion had dwindled down to five, but Jakob Gibbs helped reestablish Grace’s momentum. Gibbs used several silky smooth drives to score nine straight points down the stretch.
Grace went into halftime with a 48-37 lead. Jakob Gibbs led all players with 16 points at the intermission.
Grace shot 57 percent from the floor in the first half compared to 48 percent from MVNU.
To begin the second half, the Lancers attacked in the paint and quickly built up a 58-41 lead.
But the Cougars again used their outside shooting to stay in range. MVNU hit three 3s in three minutes to trim Grace’s lead to 60-52 with 14:48 remaining.
The Lancers were about to seize control, however. Grace roared to life with a massive 27-5 run.
Carter Stoltzfus was a spark plug during the run. He hit a 3-pointer and also made a clever steal and score in the backcourt to keep the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center crowd on its feet.
The game gained a late crescendo when senior Cole Beck scored on two straight driving layups in the last two minutes. His final bucket gave the Lancers 100 points as Grace coasted to the final buzzer.
Beck, along with Malone and Jake Wadding, were honored before Saturday’s game as part of Grace’s Senior Day.
Jakob Gibbs shot 9 of 13 from the floor, finishing with a game-high 23 points.
Malone tallied 15 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks, and Cade Gibbs finished with 12 points and three boards.
Wadding had 8 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, and Gage Sefton scored 10 points off the bench.
Ian Scott notched 7 points, 6 boards and 6 assists, Stoltzfus had 7 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals, Ian Raasch scored eight points, and Beck scored four points.
Grace had a massive advantage in the paint, outscoring MVNU 66-26. The Cougars were held to 44 percent shooting for the game while the Lancers shot 61 percent.

Lancers Close Regular Season With Win On Senior Day
WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace College’s women’s basketball team closed out the 2023-24 regular season with a 64-60 win over Mt. Vernon on Saturday afternoon.
With the win the Lancers (14-14, 9-9 Crossroads League) likely clinched the No. 5 seed in the Crossroads League tournament which would see them face St. Francis on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. The Crossroads League matchups will be made official following the next Massey Rating to break a tie between Grace and Huntington.
Saturday was also senior day as Grace honored Maddie Ryman and Kaylee Patton following the contest.
Mt. Vernon (9-19, 3-15 started with a bang, sinking a 3-point shot on the first possession of the game. Maddie Ryman came back with three consecutive points to tie the game three minutes in.
Kensie Ryman was fouled on a 3-point shot attempt and then calmly sank all three ensuing shots from the charity stripe to give Grace its first lead of the game at 10-8.
Both offenses went cold from the field over the next three minutes but the Cougars closed the quarter on a 6-2 run thanks to a trifecta and trio of free throws to give themselves a 16-14 advantage entering the quarter break.
Mt. Vernon took advantage of an offensive rebound on their first possession of the second stanza to help them extend their lead to four points.
The lead was cut in half by a mid-range jumper from Patton and Morganne Houk recaptured the lead for the Lancers after finishing through contact and completing the old-fashioned 3-point play at the free throw line.
Houk had two more scores to push Grace’s lead up to four points at the midpoint of the quarter, but Grace was unable to hold onto the advantage entering the intermission.
The Cougars went on a 9-3 run to grab the lead entering the final minute of the half. Patton had an answer for Grace though, scoring her 10th point of the game to send the game into halftime with the score tied at 32.
The Lancers shot 43 percent in the first half compared to 37 percent from the Cougars. Mt. Vernon had eight offensive rebounds while Grace managed three.
The Cougars mirrored their first half start in the second half, draining a 3-point shot to start the final 20 minutes.
Maddie Ryman scored six straight points for the Lancers as Grace answered the Mt. Vernon trifecta with an 8-0 run of their own.
The Lancers, who shot an even 50 percent in the third quarter, were able to keep the Cougars at arms reach for much of the third stanza. Mt. Vernon did make use of the long ball to tie the game at 40, however Grace’s hot offensive quarter saw them go on a 6-0 spurt to re-extend the lead.
Grace carried a 50-46 lead into the final quarter of play and four straight points from the Lancers to start the quarter saw the lead grow to eight points, it was the largest lead that either side had throughout the game.
Mt. Vernon hit from beyond the arc which sparked a run that saw the Cougars pull to within two points.
Patton ended the run with a pair of free throws and Kensie Ryman hit a corner 3-point shot that seemed to be a dagger to the heart of the Cougars.
Mt. Vernon made one last desperate attempt to draw even with Grace, but the Lancers iced the going 5-6 from the free throw line down the stretch to hold on for the 64-60 victory.
Grace shot 43 percent from the floor with one trifecta while Mt. Vernon shot 37 percent from the field with eight made shots coming from beyond the arc.
The Cougars held a 40-31 advantage on the boards while the Lancers committed six fewer turnovers.
Grace was led in scoring by seniors Maddie Ryman (16 points) and Patton (14 points). Houk had nine points while also grabbing six rebounds. Peyton Murphy nabbed an impressive five steals.