Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
WINONA LAKE - Coach Jim Kessler believes the future is bright for his Grace College men's basketball program.
But the future, the 29-year Lancer coach went on to say, is now.
And while he was happy his young team was in position to win Saturday's Mid-Central Conference clash with visiting St. Francis, Kessler was disappointed the Lancers let a win slip away.
Sophomore starting guard Marcus Moore scored a game-high 33 points and freshman Michael Wienhorst, a 2005 Warsaw Community High School graduate, came off the bench to score a career-high 24 points.
Their individual performances, however, were overshadowed by a St. Francis team that had five players score in double figures, as the Cougars came from behind to win 99-95 in overtime Saturday at Lancer Gymnasium.
Gabe Miller, a graduate of Carroll High School in Fort Wayne who played at Ball State University before transferring to the Cougars this season, led St. Francis with 22 points and 10 rebounds.
Tippecanoe Valley High School graduate Trey Eaton struggled shooting the ball, hitting just 2 of 9 field goal attempts, but was a perfect 10 of 10 at the free throw line and finished with 15 points. Mike Steinau and Ryan Bradley scored 13 points each, while Zach Beiswanger chipped in with 11 points.
"St. Francis is an awfully good team," said Kessler, whose team fell to 12-9 overall and 3-4 in MCC play. "They made big plays, that's how you win games."
Moore gave the Lancers a 77-71 lead with 2:14 to play in regulation, but the Cougars scored five quick points as Miller scored and was fouled on the play. He missed the free throw to convert the old-fashion three-point play, but St. Francis rebounded the ball, and Eaton drilled his only trey of the game.
Eaton, a sharp-shooting guard for Bill Patrick while playing at Tippecanoe Valley High School, was 1 of 5 from three-point range Saturday. The one long shot he hit was big for his team.
"That was a big one, Eaton's three," said Kessler.
Moore hit two more free throws for Grace, and then Nate Bojrab hit a three-pointer to tie the game with 1:25 to play in regulation.
Moore hit a 15-footer with seven seconds to play, giving Grace an 81-79 lead, but Beiswanger tied the game at the other end, sending it into overtime.
Wienhorst scored nine of Grace's 14 points in overtime, and Moore hit a fade-away three-pointer to tie the game at 95 with four seconds left in the extra session, but Grace senior Ben Snyder was called for a foul at the other end of the floor.
Ryan Bradley, a NorthWood High School graduate, sank both free throws with 1.5 seconds to play, and the Cougars added two more free throws after the Lancers couldn't inboud the ball and were forced to foul again.
After the game, Kessler pointed out that St. Francis had six fewer turnovers than his team and that the Cougars had five more offensive rebounds than the Lancers.
That, Kessler said, gave St. Francis 11 more possessions than his team.
"We had ourselves in position to win," said Kessler. "We gave them second chances at critical times. We held them to 39 points in the first half. They scored 60 in the second half and overtime."
St. Francis scored 18 points off Grace turnovers, while the Lancers scored nine points off Cougar turnovers.
Moore scored his game-high 33 points on 11-of-17 shooting. He also converted 9 of 11 free throw attempts.
"Marcus is a good shooter," said Kessler. "We probably should have put the ball in his hands more."
Wienhorst, who scored Grace's first nine points in overtime, was 9 of 14 from the field. He hit 3 of 5 three-point attempts.
"Michael plays with heart the whole time he plays," said Kessler. "He did some good things that kept us in it."
Sophomore Kyle Johnson scored eight points and pulled down 10 rebounds for the Lancers, who have just three seniors on the roster.
Of the Lancers' 95 points, 75 were scored by freshmen and sophomores.
"The future is bright," said Kessler. "But the future is now. We had ourselves in position to win and gave them too many chances."
The win improved St. Francis to 16-5 overall and 4-3 in the MCC.
Grace is in action Tuesday when it hosts confernce foe Goshen.
ST. FRANCIS 99, GRACE 95 (OT)
St. Francis 39 42 18 - 99
Grace 45 36 14 - 95
St. Francis FG FT R S Pts.
* Steinau 6-12 1-4 2 0 13
* Beiswanger 5-6 1-2 6 2 11
* Miller 10-21 1-2 10 0 22
* Campbell 4-12 1-1 10 2 9
* Eaton 2-9 10-10 5 1 15
Malone 1-1 1-2 0 0 4
Bojrab 3-6 2-3 2 1 9
Jamerson 0-2 1-2 1 0 1
Bradley 3-6 5-8 3 3 13
Christlieb 1-3 0-0 1 0 2
Team 0-0 0-0 3 0 0
Totals 35-78 23-34 43 9 99
Grace FG FT R S Pts.
* Snyder 0-3 2-2 0 0 2
* M. Moore 11-17 9-11 0 2 33
* Richmond 6-11 0-2 6 2 15
* S. Moore 2-6 1-3 6 1 5
* Gaff 1-5 2-2 7 0 4
Kaiser 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Ritter 0-0 0-0 2 0 0
Johnson 2-6 4-4 10 0 8
Winkleman 1-2 0-0 2 0 2
Hamstra 1-3 0-0 3 0 2
Wienhorst 9-14 3-5 5 1 24
Team 0-0 0-0 3 0 0
Totals 33-67 21-29 44 6 95
Three-point goals - St. Francis 6-16 (Bradley 2-3, Eaton 1-5, Miller 1-3, Bojrab 1-2, Malone 1-1 Jamerson 0-1, Steinau 0-1), Grace 8-22 (Richmond 3-5, Wienhorst 3-5, M. Moore 2-3, S. Moore 0-3, Johnson 0-3, Hamstra 0-2, Snyder 0-1). Turnovers - St. Francis 12, Grace 18. Fouls - St. Francis 25, Grace 29. Fouled out - Steinau, Campbell, Gaff.
