FORT WAYNE - Veteran coach Jim Kessler has said it a number of times. Possibly the biggest strength of his Grace College men's basketball team is its depth. Saturday, in an 89-87 win over Mid-Central Conference rival St. Francis at the Hutzell Center in Fort Wayne, the Lancers' depth was certainly evident. In a classic back-and-forth battle of NAIA Division II top 25 teams, the fifth-ranked Lancers got 26 points from Bruce Grimm Jr., 15 from Elliot Smith, 13 from Duke Johnson, 11 from Greg Miller and seven each from Dayton Merrell and Tannan Peters. "We have depth," said Kessler, whose team remains in a tie with Indiana Wesleyan atop the MCC standings with two games to play. "Today, we got production from that depth. I challenged them to give no less than their best, and they answered the call." With the win, Grace swept the season series with the 20th-ranked Cougars and improved to 21-6 overall and 11-5 in MCC play. St. Francis, which got a game-high 29 points from Qadr Owens, 23 from Kevin Dawson and 12 from Scott Kohne, fell to 18-10 overall and 9-7 in conference action. In a game that featured 11 lead changes and eight ties, every possession seemed to get some sort of reaction from the teams' respective fan base. A three-pointer by Owens with 1:32 remaining in the game cut the Lancers' lead to one, 86-85. Grace junior Elliot Smith responded with a bucket to give his team another three-point advantage, but Owens came right back with two points for the Cougars, cutting the Lancers' lead to 88-87. After Kessler called a timeout with just under 29 seconds to play, Grace missed a three-pointer and St. Francis came away with the rebound. With a chance to take the lead, however, Owens missed a shot in the lane and Merrell came up with the board for Grace. With six seconds to play, Merrell hit the first of a two-free throw opportunity. Merrell's seconds attempt missed but was tipped out to Grimm, who corraled the ball and held on as time expired. "In the first half, we faltered a little bit," said Kessler, whose team trailed by 12 points before cutting the deficit to five at halftime. "I thought we played smarter in the second half. Bruce had a fine game. Elliot hit some shots. We got production from a lot of players." To go with his 26 points, Grimm also had team-highs of eight rebounds and four assists. Smith was 3 of 5 from the arc. As a team, Grace was 33 of 61 (54 percent) from the field overall, 6 of 10 from three-point range and 17 of 24 at the free throw line. St. Francis was 30 of 63 (48 percent) overall, 6 of 18 from the arc and 21 of 28 at the charity stripe. Owens, who scored 14 points in the first half, was 5 of 8 from the arc, while the rest of the Cougars were 1 of 10. "Q is a great player," Kessler said of Owens, one of four senior players who were honored before the Cougars' final regular season home game. "He made some shots. I don't know how you guard him any tighter, rather than just throw a net over his head or something. He made some really tough shots." So did the Lancers, who have won four of their last five contests against St. Francis. With two games remaining in the regular season, Grace and Indiana Wesleyan are both 11-5 in MCC play. Indiana Wesleyan, which beat Bethel 94-87 Saturday, hosts Taylor Tuesday and travels to Goshen Saturday. The Lancers host Bethel Tuesday for senior night at the Orthopaedic Capital Center and travel to Taylor Saturday.
GRACE 89, ST. FRANCIS 87 Grace 44 45 – 89 St. Francis 49 38 – 87 Grace – Dayton Merrell 2-4 3-4 7, Greg Miller 4-9 2-2 11, Duke Johnson 3-8 7-12 11, Elliot Smith 6-9 0-0 15, Bruce Grimm Jr. 10-19 4-4 26, Lee Ross 0-0 0-0 0, Jacob Peattie 1-2 0-0 2, Tannan Peters 3-3 1-2 7, Karl Columbus 2-5 0-0 4, Dennis Williams 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 33-61 17-24 89. St. Francis – Scott Kohne 5-10 2-2 12, Kevin Dawson 7-11 9-11 23, Qadr Owens 10-17 4-6 29, Ethan Hussey 3-10 2-2 9, Seth Small 1-6 0-1 2, LaRon Bryan 0-0 0-0 0, Daniel Palombizio 1-3 2-2 4, Kevin Bloom 1-1 2-2 4, Spencer Comer 0-3 0-0 0, Brad Sneary 2-2 0-2 4. Totals 30-63 21-28 87. Three-pointers - Grace 6 (Smith 3, Grimm 2, Miller), St. Francis 6 (Owens 5, Hussey); Rebounds – Grace 37 (Grimm 8), St. Francis 35 (Dawson 10); Turnovers – Grace 8, St. Francis 10; Fouls – Grace 22, St. Francis 18; Fouled out – none; Records: Grace 21-6 (11-5 MCC), St. Francis 18-10 (9-7 MCC)
