GOSHEN, Ind. - A strong second half lifted Grace’s men’s basketball team past Goshen on Saturday, 82-59.
The No. 12 Lancers (20-4, 12-2 Crossroads League) won their seventh straight game and their 20th game overall.
Grace now has five straight 20-win seasons. The Lancers are tied for first place in the CL standings with four games to go.
The Lancers outscored the Maple Leafs (5-19, 0-14 CL) by 20 after halftime, using a balanced lineup to outpace Goshen.
Sophomore wings Ian Raasch and Gage Sefton tied for the team’s scoring honors with 17 points in the win.
Raasch got to work early to begin Saturday’s contest. Raasch scored eight points over the first 10 minutes.
Isaac Schultz also provided a spark off the bench in the half. The rugged freshman tallied five points in a four-minute span.
Grace led by seven after Schultz’s second basket. But a few minutes later, Goshen used seven straight points to go ahead 26-25.
An and-1 from Raasch helped Grace regain the lead, and a late 3-pointer from Brycen Graber put the Lancers on top 35-32 at halftime.
Both teams shot evenly in the half at 44 percent despite Grace making just 1 of 7 on 3-pointers.
Grace had a big edge in rebounding (24-12) and a 26-12 advantage in paint points. Raasch’s 13 points led all players at the intermission.
The Lancers scored the first five points of the second half, starting with a triple by Brett Sickafoose.
As the second half continued, Grace gradually built out its lead. Midway into the half, Grace rattled off 12 straight points.
Five different players scored for Grace during the run, including triples from Carter Stoltzfus and Graber.
The Lancers steadily extended their lead, rolling to the 23-point margin of victory.
Grace finished the game shooting 48 percent overall and 46 percent on 3s (after going 5 of 6 after halftime). The Lancers also made 82 percent of their free throws (14 of 17).
Grace had just eight turnovers and outrebounded Goshen by 25.
Raasch and Ian Scott both had double-doubles in the win. Raasch had 17 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists, and Scott had 12 points, 10 boards and 2 blocks.
Graber ended with eight points and four assists, and Hunter Walston amassed 8 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
Schultz produced 5 points, 7 boards and 1 blocked shot, Cole Hayworth scored four points with a steal, and Caleb Herrold, Marcus Davidson, Stoltzfus and Sickafoose also scored a point.
Overall, Grace had 11 players register a point during the victory.
The Lancers will be tested next week. The team is back home on Wednesday for a ranked battle with Huntington. The game will tip off at 7:30 p.m. after the conclusion of the women’s contest.
On Saturday, Grace will play at rival Bethel in a meeting of the two teams currently tied for first place in the Crossroads League standings.

Short-Handed Lancers Fall At Goshen
GOSHEN, Ind. - The injury-plagued Grace’s women’s basketball team fell 76-57 on Saturday.
Grace’s shooting never hit its mark as the Lancers made 36 percent overall from the floor and 21 percent on 3-pointers.
The Lancers had just seven healthy players on the roster, including recently added Grace volleyball player Sahara Bee.
Peyton Murphy amassed 26 points, 6 rebounds, 6 steals and 1 blocked shot in the game; she was the sole Lancer to reach double-digit scoring.
To begin the game, the Maple Leafs were fueled by the long ball. Goshen hit a trio of 3s in the first three minutes, helping build an early 11-4 cushion.
But the Lancers responded with a 10-4 run, trimming their deficit down to one after back-to-back scores from Bekah Marshall and Morganne Houk. Grace trailed by three after the first quarter.
But the Lancers’ offense ran into a staggering slump to begin the second quarter. Grace scored just one point (off a free throw from Sahara Bee) over the first 7:50 of the quarter.
Marshall made a 3-pointer with 2:10 remaining in the second quarter, marking Grace’s first made field goal of the frame.
The Maple Leafs used a 17-1 run to charge in front 34-17.
Houk scored four points over the final minute of the half, but the Lancers still trailed 37-24 at halftime.
Grace struggled to shoot 2 of 11 (18 percent) as a team in the second quarter.
The third quarter saw another sluggish start for Grace. The Lancers needed nearly four minutes to score its first points, finding a bucket from Maddy Poynter with 6:05 remaining.
Goshen took advantage to build up a 22-point cushion at 46-24.
Midway into the third period, Grace dialed up its defensive intensity. The tactic worked, generating turnovers by the Maple Leafs and points for the Lancers.
Peyton Murphy scored five points in quick succession, but two late hoops from Goshen allowed the Maple Leafs to hold a 57-36 advantage as the third quarter expired.
Grace continued to apply its defensive pressure in the fourth quarter, and the Lancers made a surge.
Over a two-minute span, Grace exploded with nine unanswered points. Murphy was responsible for seven of those points, including a triple.
Grace whittled Goshen’s lead down to 16 with 5:45 left in the game, but the Lancers were unable to make another run and had to settle for the defeat.
Murphy’s 26 points marked her eighth game of the season with at least 20 points, including two straight games.
Poynter and Houk each scored nine points, and Marshall scored seven. Kensie Ryman notched four points with four assists, and Becca Gerdt collected 3 boards, 3 assists, 1 block and 1 steal.
The Lancers will return home on Wednesday for a doubleheader against Huntington. The women will tip off at 5:30 p.m. at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.