HUNTINGTON - Veteran coach Jim Kessler admitted Saturday's game at Huntington University wasn't pretty at times. What it was, however, was a grind-it-out 77-75 win for Kessler's fourth-ranked Grace College men's basketball team. What it was, well, it was just another day at the office in the Mid-Central College Conference, as the Lancers and host Foresters battled back and forth in a game that featured 11 ties and 13 lead changes. "That's the MCC for you," said Kessler, whose Lancers improved to 8-1 overall and 2-1 in the MCC. "It's tough to win games in this conference, especially on the road." Huntington, which opened the game with an 8-0 run, fell to 8-3 overall and 1-2 in the MCC. Top-ranked Indiana Wesleyan, the only team to beat Grace this season, is 3-0 in MCC play, as is Goshen. Grace, Taylor and Spring Arbor are all 2-1 in the MCC, while Huntington, Bethel and St. Francis are 1-2 and Marian and Mt. Vernon are 0-3. After falling behind early, Grace battled back and took its first lead of the game at 22-21 with 5:03 remaining in the first half when junior Tannan Peters dished off an assist to sophomore Greg Miller. A bucket by junior point guard Bruce Grimm Jr. with two seconds remaining sent the Lancers to the lockerroom at halftime in a 31-31 tie. The second half was much of the same - back and forth, nip and tuck. Neither team was able to build a sizeable lead, and the Lancers won the game with big second-half buckets from senior Duke Johnson and free throws down the stretch. A pair of charity tosses by Miller with just under five seconds remaining in the game gave Grace a 77-72 lead. The Foresters cut into the final deficit when freshman Ryan Boester hit a trey with a tick under a second left. "In the second half, we just found a way," said Kessler. "That's what good teams do, they find a way to win." The Lancers were 18 of 26 (69 percent) from the field overall in the second half and 5 of 7 from three-point range. Johnson, Grace's 6-foot-11 center, was saddled with foul trouble early in the first half and eventualy fouled out with 1:28 remaining in the game - but not before he made his presence felt. Johnson, who only played 20 minutes because of the foul trouble, made 9 of 10 shots and scored 18 points. He led Grace in rebounds with six, and also had two blocked shots. Grimm led all scorers with 27 points. He also had three assists and two steals. In 34 minutes of action, Grimm turned the ball over just twice. "That's the stat line of an all-conference guard," Kessler said of Grimm, who also scored 27 points the last time Grace and Huntington met. "He scored 27 points, made better than 50 percent of his shots and only turned the ball over two times. Bruce played well today." Junior Elliot Smith added 10 points for the Lancers, while Miller finished with nine points and senior Dayton Merrell chipped in with six points. Just as Johnson was an inside presence for Grace, so were senior Caleb Kennedy and sophomore Shane Merryman for Huntington. The 6-6 Kennedy finished the game 9 of 12 from the field and 6 of 9 from the free throw line for 24 points, while the 6-5 Merryman was 8 of 10 from the field and 4 of 4 at the charity stripe for 21 points. "They did some nice thins when they went inside on us," Kessler said of the Foresters. "Getting 24 and 21 points out of their bigs was huge for them. They challenged us. Other than (Indiana) Wesleyan and Embry Riddle, we haven't really been challenged this year. It's nice to win a game like this. Our guys were able to rise to the challenge." Grace beat then-No. 8 Embry Riddle 82-73 on Nov. 12 and fell 65-55 to No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan Tuesday. Through nine games, the Lancers are outscoring their opponents by an average of 82-68. The Lancers will be home twice this weekend, as they host Daemen College Friday at 7 p.m. and Roosevelt Univesity Saturday at 3 p.m.
GRACE 77, HUNTINGTON 75 GC 31 46 – 77 HU 31 44 – 75 Grace – Dayton Merrell 3-5 0-0 6, Dennis Williams 1-4 0-0 2, Duke Johnson 9-10 0-0 18, Jacob Peattie 1-2 0-0 3, Bruce Grimm Jr. 10-17 5-9 27, Lee Ross 0-1 0-0 0, Elliot Smith 2-5 4-4 10, Greg Miller 2-5 4-6 9, Tannan Peters 1-1 0-0 0, Karl Columbus 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 29-53 13-19 77. Hunt. – Ryan Boester 6-10 0-0 15, Tyler Ault 2-6 0-1 4, T.J. 0-5 0-0 0, Caleb Kennedy 9-12 6-9 24, Shane Merryman 8-10 4-4 21, Justin Jantzi 0-2 0-0 0, Randall Lowe 1-2 0-0 2, Nick Teeter 1-2 0-0 3, Alec Peterson 3-5 0-0 6. Totals 30-54 10-14 75. Three-point goals – Grace 6 (Grimm 2, Smith 2, Peattie, Miller), Hunt. 5 (Boester 3, Merryman, Teeter); Rebounds - Grace 30 (Johnson 6), Hunt. 25; Turnovers - Grace 12, Hunt. 11; Fouls – Grace 19, Hunt. 19; Fouled out – Johnson; Records: Grace 8-1 (2-1 MCC), Hunt. 8-3 (1-2 MCC).
