WINONA LAKE – The game itself, admitted veteran Grace College men’s basketball coach Jim Kessler, wasn’t pretty. The beauty of the outcome, though, was that his Lancers found a way to win. Hosting the Indiana Tech Warriors Tuesday evening at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center, the Lancers halted a two-game skid with a 70-67 win. Grace led by 10 points early in the first half, but had to scratch and claw to pull out the win over the Warriors, who fell to 5-7 on the season after their three-game win streak was snapped. “We found a way to win,” said Kessler, whose team improved to 10-3. “We had to grind one out. At the beginning of the season, I said that’s what we’d have to do. I think we kind of forgot that, but we found a way to get it done tonight.” Tuesday’s three-point win followed an 85-80 loss at No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan on Dec. 2 and Saturday’s 74-73 setback in overtime to Goshen College. “Tonight could have been the same way,” said Kessler. “We made some shots when we needed them. It was one of those games that was ugly, but we battled, and battled and battled.” The Lancers scored the first eight points of the game and held a 14-4 lead over the Warriors. Indiana Tech, however, responded with a 10-0 run of its own, and the battle was on. Grace led 30-29 at halftime and was never really able to pull away in the second half. The Warriors trailed 59-53 with about four minutes remaining, but with 50 seconds left, Indiana Tech sophomore Lavonte Davis made 1 of 2 free throw attempts to cut Grace’s lead to 69-66. With five seconds remaining, Indiana Tech sophomore Tanner Watkins made 1 of 2 free throws, cutting the Lancers’ lead to 69-67. Grace senior Niko Read was fouled as soon as the Lancers inbounded the ball on the ensuing possession, and Read made 1 of 2 charity tosses to account for the final score. The Warriors had a chance at a game-tying shot after Read’s made free throw, but a turnover allowed the Lancers and their fans to celebrate. “This was huge for us,” Kessler said of the win, which overshadowed a 23-of-54 shooting performance by his team. The Lancers were just 5 of 18 from three-point range, but did convert 19 of 25 free throw attempts, including 17 of 21 in the second half. Indiana Tech was 19 of 52 (37 percent) from the field overall, 5 of 17 from the arc, and 24 of 28 at the charity stripe. Junior Kyle Fillman led Grace in scoring with 15 points, while junior Logan Irwin chipped in with 11 points and seven assists, and Read finished with 11 points. Junior Caleb Featherston scored nine points, while junior Brandon Vanderhegghen and senior Dennis Williams scored eight points each. “We were able to spread it around,” said Kessler. “That’s what we’ve got to do, play ‘we ball.’ We had five guys close to double figures. That’s what we’ve got to have.” Davis led Indiana Tech with a game-high 20 points and added nine boards, while junior Tyrece Edwards chipped in with 15 points and Watkins and junior Franklin Lindsey scored 10 points each. Former Warsaw Community High School standout Jared Bloom, who transferred to Indiana Tech after being a walk-on for one season at IPFW, played 14 minutes but did not score. Bloom finished the game 0 of 5 from the field, with all of his shot attempts coming from the arc. Tuesday’s game was the last the Lancers will play at the MOCC until hosting Crossroads League foe St. Francis on Jan. 10. Grace will be in Florida for two games next week, playing Warner at 4 p.m. on Monday and Webber International at 11 a.m. on Wednesday.
