WINONA LAKE – Jared Treadway's performance Tuesday afternoon wasn't dazzling or jaw-dropping. It was more about effort than anything, and it led Grace College's men's basketball team to a 67-59 win over No. 23 Ashford University. Powered by the 6-foot-6 senior's 15 points and 15 rebounds, the Lancers won for the third time in their last four games and are now 8-6. The Saints, who defeated 13th-ranked Huntington University Monday, fell to 12-6 on the season. “He played within himself,” Grace coach Jim Kessler said of Treadway. “He doesn't try and do too much. He's really good at playing within himself, and his size was probably a factor today.” Ashford's roster only has one player listed as taller than 6-5, and that player, 6-7 freshman Nick Wood, only played six mintues. He was scoreless and pulled down just one rebound. Greg Miller, also a 6-6 senior, scored 14 points for the Lancers, helping them outscore the Saints 24-14 in the paint. Junior Niko Read finished with 14 points for Grace, while sophomore point guard Logan Irwin chipped in with 11 points and seven rebounds while not committing a turnover. “We had pretty good distribution,” said Kessler, talking about his team's balanced scoring. “That's something we've been talking about, getting everyone involved and playing collectively.” Sophomore Brandon Vanderhegghen finished with seven points for the Lancers, who didn't commit a turnover in the second half and had just three the entire game. “If we could handle the ball like that more often, we'd be in really good shape,” said Kessler. “For us to not have a turnover for an entire half, and only have three in the game, that's really, really good.” The Lancers finished the game with 13 assists to their three turnovers, while Ashford dished out eight assists and had 10 turnovers. Grace, which led 37-31 at halftime, was 24 of 58 from the field overall, 6 of 19 from the arc, and 13 of 16 at the free throw line. The Saints finished the game 22 of 51 overall, 6 of 18 from three-point range, and 9 of 11 at the charity stripe. Sophomore Damon Overton led Ashford with 18 points, while juniors DeAndre Lowery and Tevin Harris chipped in with 17 and 13 points, respectively. After knocking off No. 23 Ashford at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center to end 2013, the Lancers open the 2014 portion of their schedule by hosting No. 5 Bethel. Bethel is fresh off a trip to Florida that included a win over No. 12 NorthWood University. Grace is 0-3 in Crossroads League play, and a win over its rival Saturday afternoon would be a great way to keep momentum going. “I think it’s huge,” Kessler said of the win over Ashford, vaulting Grace into the new year with some momentum. “This should build some confidence, and it’s a great way to close the year. We need to keep it going, we’ve got a big game with Bethel.” Bethel is 13-2 overall and 2-1 in the league standings. Saturday’s action includes a men’s and women’s doubleheader. The women’s game is scheduled to start at 1 p.m., followed by the men at 3 p.m.
