For the second straight year, the Grace men’s basketball team has been the cream of the crop in the NAIA, and for the second straight year, the Lancers were rewarded for their efforts by being awarded a host site for the opening rounds of the NAIA Tournament as a No. 1 seed. Facing off against No. 16 seed Washington Adventist, Grace was able to overcome a sluggish start, exploding late in the second half to advance to the next round on Saturday night with a 85-65 victory.
The start on offense wasn’t exactly what the Lancers were looking for, as Grace struggled to get the ball to go through the hoop on its first few possessions. When the scoring did finally start though, it was a familiar face leading the charge. The first four points of the game scored by the home side came on thunderous dunks by senior center Elijah Malone. The big man didn’t stop there, as he would score the first seven points of the game for the Lancers.
The Shock of Washington Adventist weren’t able to get much going in the first few minutes either, but the visitors were able to fill up the scoreboard rather quickly by using the long ball, something that would become a theme throughout the first half. Washington Adventist would hit five threes in the opening 20 minutes compared to zero for Grace. The quick start allowed the Shock to go up 10-9 at the first media timeout.
For the next five minutes, the game turned into an incredibly tight, back-and-forth affair. The Lancers began to get it going offensively, with Cade Gibbs hitting a few big shots, Jake Wadding going coast-to-coast with a block followed by a layup, as well as Ian Scott coming off the bench to score six points for the men in red. However, the Shock were able to stick around by answering Grace with buckets of their own each time the Lancers looked to be getting something going. The home team was doing a great job defending the paint, totaling five blocks in the first half, but Washington Adventist was able to adjust and continue their sharp shooting at the perimeter, as well as utilizing the mid-range game to their advantage. Midway through the opening half, Grace was up three.
The three pointers continued to fall for the Shock as halftime approached, and the visitors took the lead once more with around seven minutes to go in the half and remained there the rest of the way. The offensive struggles for the Lancers returned once more as the team went through a drought that lasted a few minutes and allowed Washington Adventist to extend its lead up to eight at one point. Having to work hard for every bucket they could get, the Lancers were able to keep the No. 16 seed from pulling away too much, but were unable to get over the hump.

    Grace junior Ian Scott focuses on his target while scoring in the first half during Friday night's game against Washington Adventist. Photo by Gary Nieter

Both teams were able to get a balanced scoring attack going in the first half, with eight players scoring for the Shock and seven getting shots to fall for the Lancers. At halftime, the rare 16-over-1 upset was very much in play with Grace trailing by five.
Looking to avoid that nightmare scenario, the Lancers came out of the halftime break with purpose, aggressively attacking the Shock on the offensive end and drawing five fouls in the first four minutes. The home side was able put together a nice run headlined by Jakob Gibbs as well as Malone to tie the game up on multiple occasions, but just as was the case in the first half, Washington Adventist had an answer each time. Five minutes into the second half, the teams were tied up once again at 44.
Not long after, a free throw by Jakob gave the Lancers their first lead of the second half. It wouldn’t last long though, as just two minutes later, a spurt by the Shock saw the visitors go up by five once again. The visitors were able to get their lead up to eight for the second time in the contest before Grace was able to get it going once again. The Lancers would answer with a run of their own, which originated at the defensive end. Getting the stops they desperately needed, the home side was able to score eight straight to tie the game up by the time the 10-minute mark rolled around. The packed gym went ballistic when the tying bucket came on a massive dunk by Scott.
The run continued after the media timeout as former Whitko star Brett Sickafoose put the Lancers on top once more with a contested layup. Malone and Scott both got layups to fall plus the fouls and suddenly the tables were turned with the Lancers now holding an eight-point advantage. The foul trouble that Washington Adventist had gotten into earlier in the half was coming back to bite them, as the aggressive Lancers were getting to the line at will and were in the double bonus in no time. By the time the Shock finally called a timeout to stop the bleeding at the six minute mark, Grace was now up 10 and in control of the game thanks to a 20-0 run.
The men in red continued to extend their lead in the game’s final minutes, getting it up to 15 with just over three minutes left to continue the total role reversal. Perhaps most impressive of all, the Lancers were doing this without making a three pointer to this point in the game. With just more than a minute remaining in the contest, Cade would finally get the first shot from distance to fall, growing the lead to nearly 20 in the process to put the game away and ensure Grace overcame the rocky start and avoided the upset.
Malone led all scorers in the game with 25 points to go with nine rebounds. Scott put together a double-double with 15 points and 12 boards. Jakob Gibbs scored 16 points while Cade Gibbs finished with 12.
The Lancers are back at the Manahan Orthopeadic Capital Center on Saturday night with a trip to Kansas City on the line. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.