MOUNT VERNON, Ohio – It was a tale of two halves Saturday as Grace College’s men’s basketball team took down host Mount Vernon Nazarene 67-48. The Lancers took a five-point halftime advantage and blew the game open in the second half en route to a 19-point win. The pace of the first half was much slower compared to what was to come. With the score knotted at 15-15 with less than six minutes remaining in the half, Grace grabbed the lead for good. Bruce Grimm Jr. scored six points in a row for the Lancers (15-6; 7-3 Crossroads League) as Grace used an 8-1 run to gain separation from the Cougars. Grace’s defense effort forced the Cougars (10-12; 2-8 CL) into shooting 18 percent from the field in the first half. The Lancers took a 23-18 lead into the break. The contest remained close through the first four minutes of the second half. But Elliot Smith and Greg Miller fueled a 17-5 run for Grace that proved to be the game-changer. The Lancers continued their offensive assault, building up a lead as large as 25 points with 5:16 remaining to effectively end the game. As a team, Grace held a dominant plus-15 advantage in rebounds (49-34). The Lancers’ defense also held Mount Vernon to a 12-of-54 performance (22 percent) from the field, including 1 of 16 from the arc. After a subpar offensive first half, Grace clicked at a high rate in the second half. The Lancers shot 15 of 25 (60 percent) from the floor after halftime. Miller and Grimm tied for team scoring honors with 19 points each. Grimm also added nine rebounds, three assists and three steals. Karl Columbus reached double figures for the fourth time this season with 10 points and also grabbed five boards, while Smith added nine points and five rebounds. Freshman Caleb Featherston pulled down six rebounds off the bench, and classmate Brandon Vanderhegghen chipped in with four points and two assists. The Lancers will take their two-game winning streak into Tuesday’s Top 25 showdown with No. 4 Indiana Wesleyan. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. at the Orthopaedic Capital Center.
