Lancers determined to make deep run in NAIA tournament
Posted
Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
WINONA LAKE – Branson, Mo., certainly has its share of tourist attractions. Grace College men's basketball coach Jim Kessler and his team, however, have made it clear their trip to the Show Me State is about taking care of business. "This year it's totally different," said Kessler. "We've riden the go-carts, played mini-golf and eaten the ice cream. We're focused, and this is about taking care of business." The Lancers, ranked 11th in the final NAIA Division II national poll, won the Mid-Central College Conference Tournament title and received an automatic bid to the national tournament. Now, Kessler and his team would love nothing more than to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the program's 1992 national championship in style – to win five games in the next six days and bring another banner back to Winona Lake. The 32-team, single-elimination tournament began at 9:30 a.m. (EDT) today and is again being held at Keeter Gymnasium on the campus of College of the Ozarks. Grace, which has won five of its last six games, takes a 24-7 record into Thursday's 8:30 p.m. game against 22nd-ranked Briar Cliff Chargers (Iowa). The Chargers, who play in the Great Plains Athletic Conference, lost 95-50 to No. 10 Northwestern (Iowa) in the conference semifinals and take a 21-10 mark into Thursday night's contest. "They play in a good conference," Kessler said of Briar Cliff. "There's three teams from that conference in the national tournament. They like to shoot the three. When they've shot well, they've won. When they haven't, it's been a different story." The Chargers, who have lost three of their last five games, including that 45-point loss in the conference tournament, received the seventh of 10 at-large bids. Making its eighth appearance, Briar Cliff owns a 2-7 all-time record in the national tournament. The Chargers lost 72-68 to Davenport (Mich.) in the first round last year. Jake Shipley, a 6-foot-8 junior, leads Briar Cliff with 18 points per game, while 6-0 junior Taylor Murren is the only other double-figure scorer on the team with his average of 12 points per game. "Shipley is a good player," said Kessler. "He can score inside and outside, and he can rebound. We really have to defend the three." The Chargers have made 217 of 649 (33 percent) three-point attempts this season. Murren has made 76 of 206 attempts from the arc, while Shipley has made 69 of 178 attempts. Michael Collison, a 6-10, 245-pound junior and brother of former Kansas Jayhawks star Nick Collison, is the team's third-leading scorer. He averages six points and five rebounds per game. Making their fourth appearance in the past five years and sixth overall, the Lancers are 8-4 in national tournament games. Grace, which advanced to the Elite Eight in both 2008 and 2009, lost 71-62 to Dakota Wesleyan last year in the first round. That loss didn't sit well with Kessler and his players. And the Lancers, who lost just one major contributor from last year's team, act as if they are on a mission this time around. "I think we're totally focused this time," said Kessler. "Last year we had to wait around and see if we were in, and we got an at-large bid. This year, we're going in after winning the conference tournament, and we've got some momentum. The guys know we're going to Branson to take care of business. We don't want to have that feeling we did last year." Junior point guard Bruce Grimm Jr. leads Grace in scoring with 18 points per game. The former Rochester High School standout and 2009 Mr. Basketball runner-up also averages five rebounds and four assists per game. Duke Johnson, a 6-11 senior, averages 14 points and six boards per game, while 6-6 sophomore Greg Miller averages 12 points and seven rebounds. Junior Elliot Smith averages nine points per game, while senior Jacob Peattie adds eight points per game. The Lancers have seven players that average at least five points per game. That depth will come in handy in the national tournament. Of the 32 teams playing in Branson, seven are from Indiana. Joining the Lancers are fellow MCC schools Indiana Wesleyan, Marian and St. Francis, as well as Indiana Tech, Indiana East and Indiana Southeast.
