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With five straight conference tournament titles, four straight conference championships and a No. 1 seed in the NAIA national tournament in three of the past four years, the Grace men’s basketball program isn’t just going through a period of great success, it has become the standard of success.
What the Lancers have been able to accomplish over the past half-decade is nothing short of remarkable. By defeating Indiana Wesleyan 84-82 last Tuesday to win a fifth straight Crossroads League tournament championship, Grace continued to separate itself into a league of its own, as no member of the Crossroads has ever won more than three in a row. To do it after losing seven players from last year’s team made it all the more special.
“Every one is different. First of all, you don’t get tired of it, that’s for sure. I tell people all the time that every time you add or subtract just one person from a team, it becomes a completely different team,” Grace head coach Scott Moore said. “We subtracted five guys two years ago, and seven guys last year, so our locker room is completely different. But, the foundation of who we are hasn’t changed. A lot of the guys that won that tournament, it was their first time doing so. I’ve grown to appreciate it more for our guys than for me.”
This most recent romp though the Crossroads League may have been the program’s most impressive yet. Out of the 15 players on the roster, eight of them are freshmen. Add four sophomores and three juniors, and you have a team that spent a large chunk of the year ranked No. 1 in the country with no seniors on the roster.
Despite a large chunk of his team not having played with the former Lancers that helped get the program to this point, Moore acknowledges that his former players still have their fingerprints all over the program.
“Every time they put on that jersey, I think it’s important for our guys to understand that someone wore that jersey before you. I think they take great pride in that,” the Lancer head man said. “They obviously see the recent success, but they know the guys that were a part of it. What’s cool about these freshmen is that they were around last year’s team a lot during the season. They saw Ian Scott and Brett Sickafoose and saw what goes into being great. So in a unique way, it felt like they were on the team but unable to play.
“You could tell when they came in during the preseason that they wanted to continue and uphold the standard that the guys before them set, but also that they wanted to do it their own way.”
A large reason that these recruits were able to be around last year’s team so much is because of the way the Lancers recruit. Of the 15 players on the roster, all of them played high school ball in Indiana. Not only that, but all of them did so within a 100 mile radius and in most cases, went to school much closer than that. The player playing the furthest from home is sophomore Hunter Walston, who hails from Noblesville. Moore says it's no secret that Grace wants to recruit those local guys, and all of the recent success makes it easier to pull off.
“Success breeds success. We want the best players around us to come to Grace. If they don’t, we’re going to have to play against them, and that’s just the reality of the Crossroads League,” he said. “We’re always looking for guys who fit us. Not necessarily the best players, but the best players for us. There are so many great high school basketball coaches and programs within a two-hour radius of us. When we can get those guys, you see the fans come with them. Look at Gavin Betten and Ethan Hendrix. They win state at Manchester 20 minutes down the road and now you see so much Grace gear in that community. Those things matter.
“Our best recruiters are our players. These young guys see dudes from their community go to Grace and make an impact and they start to see themselves being able to do that. A kid who comes to Grace isn’t necessarily just coming to play for Coach Moore. They’re coming to play with these guys and that makes all the difference.”
Moore knows better than anyone that talent will only take you so far. While his teams over the past five years have changed dramatically during that course of time, the philosophy of Lancer basketball and what it takes to be successful has not. In fact, it’s a staple of how the program has gotten to where it is.
“It's unselfishness, and all of them have it. In 2026, the world tells you to be selfish. Every one of these kids was the best player on their high school team. A lot of them won state championships. For them to come into a situation where they know going in they’re going to have to give something up to be a part of something bigger, it says a lot about who they are,” Moore said. “It’s not a secret what we do here. Ian Scott came off the bench for three years. Now he’s Indiana State’s best player. I always tell the players that if they are willing to do that, what they will get in return is so much more than what they give up. There are guys out there scoring 15 points a game or more that nobody talks about. We’ve got guys scoring anywhere between eight and 10 but they’re All-American candidates because they’re winning. It’s what we preach and what I hope continues.”
