WINONA LAKE – For someone wanting to support a great cause and see basketball games at the same time, the Orthopaedic Capital Center is the place to be Friday and Saturday. Grace College will host its annual KCCCF Hoops For Hope Tournament, with two men's and two women's games Friday, and then two men's and another women's game Saturday. Money raised from the tournament benefits the Kosciusko County Cancer Care Fund. "This community has always been a very giving community," said long-time Grace College men's coach Jim Kessler. "This is also a community that loves basketball. This is a great way to support a great cause, and also see some good basketball teams." Friday's women's games feature Concorida and IU-Southeast at 2 p.m. and Grace and Northwestern Ohio at 6 p.m. Friday's men's games feature Embry Riddle and Missouri Baptist at 4 p.m. and Grace and Missouri Valley at 8 p.m. The Lady Lancers will play Concordia at 3 p.m. Saturday, and the men's consolation and championship games will be at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., respectively. Grace's women's team is 4-0 and ranked 24th in the latest NAIA Division II national poll. The men's championship game could be a matchup of top-10 teams, as the Eagles are ranked eighth nationally and bring a 1-0 record to the OCC, while the host Lancers are 2-0 and ranked ninth. Grace beat Embry Riddle 75-65 in the first round of the NAIA Division II National Tournament in Branson, Mo., in 2008. "Steve (Ridder) is an experienced coach, and he has a great program at Embry Riddle," said Kessler. "They're at the national tournament every year. I have a ton of respect for him and his program. It's an aeronautical school, so obviously he has very smart players."
