WINONA LAKE - Veteran Grace College men's basketball coach Jim Kessler preaches to his players the concept of taking one game, one day, at a time.
There's no secret, however, where the 33rd-year coach and his Lancers want to be next month- back in Branson, Mo., for the NAIA Divison II National Tournament."We're taking one game, one day at a time," said Kessler, who took the Lancers to the National Tournament last season for the first time in 15 years, guiding Grace to the Elite Eight. "We've talked about getting back to the tournament, and the way we played today, we can win some games at the National Tournament."
Behind a 28-point performance by senior Michael Wienhorst and a 27-point, 13-rebound effort from classmate Eric Gaff, the 23rd-ranked Lancers proved how dangerous of a team they can be, as they dominated Mid-Central Conference rival Huntington 101-77 Saturday at the Orthopaedic Captial Center.
Wienhorst, who scored 25 points in a 98-92 win at Huntington earlier this season, scored 21 points in the second half Saturday and helped the Lancers build a lead of 29 points, 93-64, late in the game.
"Michael had a great game," Kessler said of the 2005 Warsaw Community High School graduate. "We talk about attacking the basket, and when Michael attacks the basket, good things happen. When you attack the basket, that opens up the outside."
The Lancers were certainly on the attack against the Foresters, and the 6-foot-11 Gaff's inside play and the 6-3 Wienhorst's back-to-back-to-back three-pointers in the second half were too much for Huntington to handle.
"So many times you play to win in the first half, and in the second half you play not to lose," said Kessler. "Our focus today was to play to win in both halves, and I think we did that."
Saturday's 24-point win improved Grace to 17-7 overall and 8-3 in the MCC, while Huntington fell to 15-9 overall and 4-6 in conference play.
Bethel continues to hold a slim lead in the conference standings with a 9-2 mark, followed by Grace (8-3), Indiana Wesleyan (7-3), Spring Arbor (7-4), St. Francis (7-4), Huntington (4-6), Goshen (4-6), Marian (1-10) and Taylor (1-10).
The Lancers, who have won their last five meetings with Huntington, also got 13 points from sophomore David Henry, eight points from freshman Dayton Merrell and seven points and nine rebounds from junior David Swanson.
Grace shot 63 percent from the floor in the first half and led 49-33 at halftime.
In the second half, the Lancers converted 21 of 25 free throws.
Senior Kyle Benge led Huntington with 27 points, while junior Kevin Kyle added 12 points and junior Luke Smith chipped in with 11 points.
The Lancers, who have won nine of their last 11 games, play at Goshen Tuesday and at Taylor Saturday.
