WINONA LAKE – Grace College men’s basketball coach Jim Kessler described Erik Bowen as blue collar, the kind of player that takes care of business and never quits. That’s exactly how the 6-foot-6 sophomore played Friday night, as he led the NAIA Division II 14th-ranked Lancers to a 78-65 win over the St. Xavier University Cougars. Helping Grace improve to 3-0 on the season, Bowen was 6 of 9 from the field and 5 of 7 from the charity stripe en route to a team-high 17 points. He also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, as the Lancers dominated the Cougars 47-24 on the boards, including a 15-7 advantage on the offensive glass. “That’s a good night’s work,” said Kessler, whose team is right back in action today when it travels to Deerfield, Ill., to play Trinity International. “I’m really proud of Erik, he really played well,” continued Kessler. “He goes 6 of 9 from the field, 5 of 7 from the line, grabs 12 rebounds ... what a great night for that young man. I couldn’t be more proud of him. He’s just a blue collar kid, he takes care of business and never quits. He’s not afraid to mix it up a little bit. He just had a great night.” Bowen, who scored a total of 20 points in the Lancers’ first two games of the season, played the best game of his Grace career on a night both Kessler and senior point guard Logan Irwin reached career milestones. In his 39th season with the Lancers, Kessler, who will be inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame prior to the national tournament in Branson, Mo., in March, notched career win No. 725. Irwin, in his 74th game in a Lancers uniform, became the 46th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Needing 11 points to accomplish the feat Friday night at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center, Irwin did so with a jumper with 16:11 remaining in the game, a shot that gave the Lancers a 53-34 lead at the time. Irwin finished the game with 14 points, five rebounds and five assists. “This is just the third game of the season, so he’s really done that in two years,” Kessler said of Irwin, who started his collegiate career at NCAA Div. I Stetson University before transferring home. “He’s just such a steady leader. In our last game up in Detroit, when we needed a basket he bailed us out. He’s just so steady, so understanding of what needs to happen.” Senior Brandon Vanderhegghen scored 15 points for Grace, while senior Kyle Fillman and sophomore Chad Hoffer chipped in with eight points each and freshman Logan Godfrey added six points. The Lancers led by as many as 26 points in the first half, and the Cougars never got any closer than 13 points – the final margin – once Grace built its big advantage. “We tried to take (Stanley) Moore out of it, and we did, and I thought our bigs did a good job inside,” said Kessler. “I thought we defended really well ... even in the second half, we just got a little too aggressive. You want to be the aggressor, and we were just a little too close, a little too tight, and we put them on the line.” The Lancers were whistled for 23 fouls in the game. St. Xavier took advantage of that, making 22 of 27 free throw attempts. Sophomore Larry Motuzis led the Cougars with a game-high 30 points, while freshman Jacob Strong and sophomore Niko Cahue scored eight and seven points, respectively. Moore, the 6-2 senior guard Kessler was focused on containing, took just three shots Friday and scored three points.
GRACE COLLEGE 78, ST. XAVIER 65 STX 28 37 – 65 GC 45 33 – 78 STX – Tony Core 0-1 0-0 0, Niko Cahue 2-7 3-4 7, Quinn Niego 0-3 2-2 2, Larry Motuzis 8-18 11-14 30, Stanley Moore 1-3 0-0 3, Isaac Matthews 1-2 0-0 3, Lucas Daurer 1-3 0-0 2, Kyle Huppe 0-4 4-4 4, Kyle Tackett 1-6 0-0 2, Jacob Strong 3-5 0-1 8, Mitch Uratchko 1-3 2-2 4. Totals 18-55 22-27 65. Grace – Caleb Featherston 1-4 1-2 3, Kyle Fillman 2-2 4-4 8, Erik Bowen 6-9 5-7 17, Logan Irwin 6-13 1-3 14, Brandon Vanderhegghen 5-7 1-2 15, Josh Ruggles 1-8 0-0 3, John Swanson 0-1 0-0 0, Stephen Halstead 0-1 0-0 0, Eric Miller 1-4 2-2 4, Tre Olive 0-0 0-0 0, Drew Perrin 0-1 0-0 0, Tim Swanson 0-0 0-0 0, Logan Godfrey 2-2 2-2 6, Chad Hoffer 2-5 3-3 8, Mike Warren 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-57 19-25 78. Three-pointers – STX 7 (Motuzis 3, Strong 2, Moore, Matthews), Grace 7 (Vanderhegghen 4, Irwin, Ruggles, Hoffer); Rebounds – STX 24 (Motuzis 7), Grace 47 (Bowen 12); Turnovers – STX 8, Grace 16; Fouls – STX 21, Grace 23; Fouled out – Core, Moore. Records: STX 1-3, Grace 3-0
