WINONA LAKE – Brandon Vanderhegghen picked up right where he left off last season. As a result of the 6-foot-1 junior’s performance, Grace College’s men’s basketball team won its season opener Friday night and veteran coach Jim Kessler notched his 700th career victory. Vanderhegghen, who scored a career-high 19 points in last season’s finale, came off the bench and tallied a game-high 18 points, as the Lancers beat the Concordia University Cardinals 89-71 at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center. “He brings it like that,” Kessler, who downplayed his own milestone, said of Vanderhegghen’s performance. “He’s like the Energizer bunny. He gets in the game, and guys love playing with him because he brings that energy to the floor.” After Concordia trimmed Grace’s 16-point lead to seven in the second half, Vanderheggen scored six points during a 12-2 run for the Lancers, who stretched their advantage to 71-54 and cruised the rest of the way. Senior Niko Read added 16 points for Grace, while junior Kyle Fillman scored 13 points and 6-11 senior Dennis Williams, in the starting lineup after missing all of last season with a foot injury, finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds. “We got points from a lot of guys,” said Kessler. “We wanted to play ‘we ball’, not ‘me ball.’” Junior Logan Irwin and freshman Chad Hoffer chipped in with eight points each, while juniors Caleb Featherston and Drew Perrin scored six and five points, respectively. Irwin dished out a game-high six assists. Much like Williams’ production, Hoffer’s performance was definitely a bright spot for the Lancers, who lost All-American Greg Miller to graduation. Playing his first organized basketball since his prep career was cut short in 2008 because of disciplinary reasons, the Tippecanoe Valley graduate had some rust to shake off but displayed the athleticism area fans remember him for. Entering the game in the first half, Hoffer wasted little time in scoring his first basket in a Grace uniform, driving the lane past a defender and showing off his leaping ability before laying it in. Hoffer finished the game 3 of 5 from the field and added two assists, a steal and a rebound in 13 minutes of action. “He’s a hard-nosed competitor,” Kessler said of the 6-2 Hoffer, who has four years of elibility at Grace. “You want that kind of player in the game. He’s just a hard-nosed guy and gets after it.” The Lancers finished the game 32 of 55 (58 percent) from the floor, 6 of 12 from the arc, and 19 of 25 at the charity stripe. The Cardinals, who got 15 points from senior Makenzi Kurvitz-Statum and 13 from classmate Andrew Patrick, were 24 of 60 (40 percent) overall, 6 of 25 from the arc, and 17 of 23 at the free throw line. Junior Joe Remstad and freshman Alec Turner chipped in with 12 and 11 points, respectively, for Concordia. While the Lancers were impressive as a team in the win, the story of the night was Kessler’s milestone. Though the humble Kessler, a former Grace player himself, downplayed the achievement, he became the 45th men’s college basketball coach to win 700 games. Harry Statham, still coaching at McKendree, leads the list with 1,077 wins. The list also includes the likes of Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim, Bob Knight, Dean Smith, Adolph Rupp and Jim Calhoun. “It’s an honor,” Kessler said of having his name on a list with the aforementioned coaches. “I’m thankful Grace College gave me a chance. I was young and had never been a head coach before.” Kessler, now in his 38th season with the Lancers, is the third Crossroads League coach to accomplish the feat, joing retired Taylor University coach Paul Patterson (734) and current Bethel College coach Mike Lightfoot (713). Right behind Kessler on the list for all-time wins in men’s college basketball is current Louisville coach Rick Pitino with 696.
GRACE COLLEGE 89, CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY 71 CU 26 45 – 71 GC 39 50 – 89 Concordia – Makenzi Kurvitz-Statum 5-11 2-3 15, Josh Fugate 2-8 4-4 8, Andrew Patrick 5-12 3-6 13, Austin Elam 0-0 0-0 0, Joe Remstad 3-9 6-8 12, Alec Turner 4-6 0-0 11, James Ranc 1-2 0-0 2, Tyler Smith 0-2 0-0 0, Ed Shinevarre 3-3 2-2 8, Andrew Mapley 0-2 0-0 0, Eddie Rogers 0-0 0-0 0, Brandon Miller 1-1 0-0 2, Luke Diekevers 0-4 0-0 0, Connor Phee 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-60 17-23 71. Grace – Caleb Featherson 3-5 0-1 6, Kyle Fillman 4-6 5-7 13, Dennis Williams 5-7 1-2 11, Logan Irwin 2-8 4-4 8, Niko Read 7-10 0-0 16, Keaton Irwin 0-0 0-0 0, John Swanson 0-0 0-0 0, Stephen Halstead 0-1 0-0 0, Tre Olive 0-0 3-4 3, Drew Perrin 1-2 2-2 5, Brandon Vanderhegghen 7-10 1-1 18, Chad Hoffer 3-5 2-2 8, Sam Daniels 0-0 0-0 0, Erik Bowen 0-0 1-2 1, Adrian Makolli 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 32-55 19-25 89. Three-pointers – Concordia 6 (Kurvitz-Statum 3, Turner 3), Grace 6 (Vanderhegghen 3, Read 2, Perrin); Rebounds – Concordia 26 (Remstad 7), Grace 33 (Williams 10); Turnovers – Concordia 17, Grace 20; Assists – Concordia 7, Grace 17 (L. Irwin 6). Records: Concordia 0-1, Grace 1-0
