Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
FORT WAYNE - After losing to NAIA Division II No. 1 St. Francis by a score of 88-58 Saturday in the final regular season game for both teams, not many people gave the Grace College men's basketball team much of a chance against the same team Wednesday.
However, the Lancers almost shocked the Cougars before losing 70-62 in the first round of the Mid-Central Conference Tournament.
"We came back and prepared well," Grace College head coach Jim Kessler said. "We came with the right mindset. We outplayed them from an intensity standpoint, from an effort standpoint and from a preparation standpoint."
The loss ends Grace's season with a record of 10-23. Saint Francis improves to 29-4 and will move on to the second round of the MCC Tournament.
For the Lancers, it is a midway point of sorts. With a full cast of athletes returning for next season, this was an opportunity to get a glimpse at the future. For Saint Francis, the future is now.
"This is the first time since I've been here that there haven't been tears in the locker room after the game because the seniors were leaving," Kessler said. "There was a sense of resolve and there's some unfinished business."
The same problems that have haunted the Lancers all year continued to creep up Wednesday night. The Lancers committed 22 turnovers, 15 in the first half, when they dug themselves into a nine-point halftime hole. Grace also made just 43 percent of its free throws while getting to the stripe eight times less than Saint Francis.
After a 37-28 halftime deficit, the Lancers quickly got back into the game. Ben Tonagel made two three-pointers in a 12-5 run to open the half that saw Grace cut the lead to two points.
After Saint Francis pushed the lead back to eight with six minutes to play, Grace went on a 10-5 run to get to within three points at 65-62 with 1:31 to play. However, MCC Player of the Year Steve Smith got an offensive rebound and a putback to make it 67-62 with 52 seconds to play.
The Lancers then committed a turnover, and the Cougars made free throws down the stretch for the win.
"The game went exactly as we planned it," Kessler said. "I couldn't ask more of them."
Tonagel led Grace with 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting from three-point range. Lawrence Burnett added 14 points, and Teryck Taylor led the Lancers with eight rebounds. Point guard Matt Moore had seven assists while committing just two turnovers.
Smith led the Cougars with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Marcus Louden added 11 points.
Saint FRANCIS 70, GRACE 62
Grace 28 34 - 62
Saint Francis 37 33 - 70
Grace - Matt Moore 1-7 0-0 2, Lawrence Burnett 7-14 0-2 14, Ben Tonagel 6-10 2-2 19, Teryck Taylor 3-5 0-0 6, Dan Scharlach 2-4 0-0 4, Brian O'Dell 1-1 0-0 2, Ryan Bricker 3-8 0-0 8, Shannon Brown 3-6 1-3 7, Jeremy Swanson 0-0 0-0 0, Total 26-55 3-7 62.
Saint Francis - Marcus Louden 2-4 5-6 11, Ben Meyer 3-11 0-1 8, Scott Bolinger 1-4 2-2 4, Jeremy Creigh 3-7 0-0 7, Steve Smith 10-19 3-5 23, Jontae James 3-9 0-0 7, Dave Baughman 4-6 0-1 8, Mitch Smith 1-1 0-0 2, Jeremy Hibbeln 0-4 0-0 0, Total 27-65 10-15 70.
Three-pointers - Grace 7-14 (Tonagel 5-8, Bricker 2-5, Moore 0-1), Saint Francis 6-17 (Louden 2-4, Meyer 2-5, James 1-2, Creigh 1-3, S. Smith 0-1, Hibbeln 0-2). Rebounds - Grace 36 (Taylor 8), Saint Francis 38 (S. Smith 10). Personal fouls - Grace 17, Saint Francis 6. Fouled out - none. Turnovers - Grace 22, Saint Francis 14.
