Lancers alone atop MCC after double-overtime victory
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Josh Neuhart-
WINONA LAKE – The Grace College Lancers and Bethel College pilots added another thrilling chapter to their men's basketbal rivalry Tuesday night when Grace took home a 100-97 double-overtime victory at the Orthopaedic Capital Center. Bruce Grimm Jr. turned in a career night with 35 points, as the Lancers swept the season series for the second straight year. In a classic battle that featured a buzzer beater, numerous clutch shots, eight ties and seven lead changes, Grace managed to hold onto the lead throughout the majority of the nail-biting minutes in regulation and both overtime periods. Bethel was more poised out the gate, however, as it opened up a 31-17 lead. Grace made a slight push late in the half but trailed by nine at the half, 38-29. Although the Pilots (15-13; 7-10 MCC) led for the first 27 minutes of play, the Lancers (22-6; 12-5 MCC) found their offensive in the second half. After shooting just 21.6 percent in the opening period (8 of 37), the Lancers opened the second half with eight straight points thanks to a three-point play from Duke Johnson and a three-pointer from Jacob Peattie. Greg Miller tied the game for Grace with a bucket, and Grimm gave the Lancers their first lead of the game at 48-46 with 12:24 to go in regulation. Dayton Merrell was crucial in helping Grace out to a six-point lead when he buried three treys in less than three minutes, but Bethel refused to go down early. Bethel’s Matt Schauss nailed a pair of shots from beyond the arc in to cut Grace’s eight-point lead down to two. The Pilots managed to force a turnover on Grace’s possession to set up a game-tying layup from Michael Mislan with 15 seconds left in regulation. Peattie had a look from beyond the arc to win the game, but his shot was off the mark, and the teams entered their first overtime period knotted at 78. The teams traded baskets to start overtime, but Grimm sank a deep two-pointer then made a steal and long outlet pass to Peattie to put the Lancers ahead 86-82 with 1:31 to play. Again, Bethel came back with a much-needed three-pointer and then fouled Grimm with 17 seconds on the clock. Grimm made both shots to give Grace a three-point edge, but as the clock expired, Bethel’s Ryan Benner put up a floating three-pointer from the left wing that swished through to send the game to double overtime. In the second overtime session, Johnson and Grimm combined for eight points in the first three minutes to give Grace a 96-90 lead. The Pilots had another rally up their sleeves when they rattled off five points and had a chance to tie the score at the free throw line, but Zach Miller missed his second free throw, and Bethel was forced to foul Duke Johnson with 15 seconds left. Johnson made 1 of 2 from the charity stripe, and Merrell came up with an offensive rebound and passed to Elliot Smith. Smith was promptly fouled and again made 1 of 2 from the line to put Grace up by three. The Lancers fouled in the backcourt with 10 seconds to play to prevent another game-tying three-pointer from the Pilots, and Bethel made 1 of 2 from the free throw stripe to cut Grace’s lead to two. Bethel fouled again with five seconds left, and again Grace made 1 of 2 from the line. Grace returned the favor with a foul to prevent a three-point attempt, and Bethel made the first free throw but committed a lane violation on the second and was forced to foul. With two seconds on the clock, Merrell gave Grace a three-point edge from the charity stripe, and a fullcourt heave from Benner was off the mark this time as the clock expired. Grimm was the man of the night with a career-best 35 points to go along with six assists and five steals in 47 minutes of play. He made 10 field goal attempts and was 13 of 17 from the free throw line. Johnson finished with 19 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks in the post, while Greg Miller posted his seventh double-double of the season with 15 points and 15 boards. Merrell had 13 points and six rebounds on the night, and Peattie finished with eight points. Schauss led Bethel with 21 points, while Michael Mislan added 20, Benner scored 17 and Zach Miller scored 15 points. The Lancers can claim their first conference championship since 1993 with a win at Taylor University Saturday. The game is scheduled for 3 p.m.
GRACE 100, BETHEL 97 (2OT) Bethel 38 40 10 9 – 97 Grace 29 49 10 12 – 100 Bethel – Landon Booker 1-4 0-0 2, Matt Schauss 8-18 2-6 21, Zach Miller 4-10 4-5 15, Brandon Gerber 2-7 2-3 7, Darrell Hopkins 2-4 3-3 7, Steve Ward 0-0 0-0 0, Nick Lewis 1-6 6-7 8, Michael Mislan 10-16 0-0 20, Ryan Benner 5-14 4-6 17, Patrick Oetting 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 33-80 21-30 97. Grace – Dayton Merrell 3-9 4-6 13, Duke Johnson 7-13 5-9 19, Jacob Peattie 3-6 0-0 8, Benjamin Euler 0-1 0-0 0, Bruce Grimm Jr. 10-23 13-17 35, Lee Ross 0-0 0-0 0, Elliot Smith 2-5 1-2 7, Greg Miller 7-13 1-2 15, Tannan Peters 0-1 0-0 0, Karl Columbus 1-3 0-0 2, Dennis Williams 0-3 1-2 1. Totals 33-78 25-38 100. Three-pointers – Bethel 10 (Schauss 3, Miller 3, Benner 3, Gerber), Grace 9 (Merrell 3, Peattie 2, Grimm 2, Smith 2); Rebounds – Bethel 40 (Schauss 8, Gerber 8), Grace 51 (Miller 15); Turnovers – Bethel 11, Grace 15; Fouls – Bethel 32, Grace 21; Fouled out – Schauss, Gerber; Records: Bethel 15 -13 (7-10 MCC), Grace 22-6 (12-5 MCC)
