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HUNTINGTON – Grace College’s men’s basketball team could not complete a massive comeback at Huntington, losing 74-69 on Saturday.
The Lancers trailed by 19 points with 13 minutes to play in the game. But No. 18 Grace charged back, slicing the lead down to four before running out of time.
Grace endured one of its lowest offensive outputs of the Crossroads League season, shooting 34 percent for the game.
The Lancers (15-9, 7-5 Crossroads League) particularly struggled in the first half. Grace missed all 14 of its 3-point shots before halftime and shot 24 percent overall in the period.
To start the game, Grace’s offense seemed to be clicking at a normal rhythm. The Lancers were tied 12-12 with the Foresters (11-13, 3-9 CL) after nine minutes of play.
But Grace missed its next seven field goals over the following five minutes; as a result, Huntington surged ahead 29-14.
The Lancers ended the half by missing six of their final seven field goals and went into halftime behind 40-22. Huntington shot 48 percent in the half, double the shooting percentage of Grace (24 percent).
Seven minutes into the second half, the Foresters still commanded a comfortable 54-35 advantage.
Grace refused to end the game without a fight, starting with a quick 9-0 run to put pressure on the home team.
A hoop from Myles Johnson cut HU’s edge to single digits at 61-52 with 5:20 remaining, and Matt Jennings scored on the next possession to trim the lead to seven.
Jennings scored five points in the final minute to bring Grace within four. Huntington then missed the front-end of a bonus free throw, but the Foresters got their own rebound and hit free throws to end the contest.
Haden Deaton led all players with 27 points, adding six boards and two assists, and Jennings added 19 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists.
Johnson had 12 points, 7 boards, 2 blocks and 2 steals, and Jaret Sons chipped in 8 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.
The Lancers return to Winona Lake next week for two games. Grace hosts Taylor on Wednesday at 6 p.m. and Bethel for a doubleheader Saturday.
No. 21 Foresters top Grace
HUNTINGTON - Grace’s women’s basketball team suffered a 90-74 defeat at the hands of No. 21 Huntington on Saturday.
The Lady Lancers (15-9, 6-6 Crossroads League) sit in a three-way tie for fifth place in the league standings, tied with Huntington and Mt. Vernon Nazarene.
Huntington started the game well as Grace’s offense was sluggish. The Lady Lancers scored just three points for the first five minutes, falling behind 12-3.
But Grace was able to close the period on a furious run. The Lady Lancers buried a trio of 3-pointers over the final 1:40, including a pair from Kyannah Stull and one from Maddie Ryman.
Stull’s last triple in the final seconds of the period cut Huntington’s lead down to 19-17. Stull drained three triples in the quarter for nine points.
An early 3-pointer in the second quarter from Vironnica Drake put Grace on top 21-19. But the Foresters answered with a triple of their own and carried that lead for the rest of the half.
Huntington led 44-40 at the break. Both teams shot at least 48 percent from the floor, and the Foresters drained nine 3-pointers before halftime at a 47-percent clip.
The Foresters began to pull away in the third quarter. Huntington scored 27 points in the period, 14 of those points coming after offensive rebounds.
Huntington scored the final bucket of the third quarter after yet another offensive board, claiming a 71-61 advantage.
Grace was unable to puncture that double-digit cushion in the fourth quarter, shooting 3-of-12 as a team.
For the game Grace shot 40 percent from the floor, including a 33-percent effort after halftime. The Lady Lancers were outrebounded 46-27, highlighted by a 17-5 disparity on the offensive glass.
Stull tied her career high with 27 points, making 5-of-9 from beyond the arc and 8-of-8 from the foul line.
Drake finished the game with 24 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists, and Ryman finished with 12 points and two steals.
No other player for Grace scored more than four points.
The Lady Lancers face another ranked opponent on Wednesday. Grace will tussle with Taylor, currently ranked No. 5 in the NAIA, at 6 p.m. at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.
Grace enjoys large meet at Grand Valley
ALLENDALE, Mich. - Grace’s track and field team had its final indoor meet before postseason begins on Saturday at the Grand Valley Open.
The meet was run on an oversized 300-meter track at Grand Valley, meaning the running times have been converted to a standard 200 track.
After those conversions, three of Grace’s times broke school records.
The women’s 4x400 relay team of Suzanne Sickafoose, Ashley Stoltzfus, Julia Malson and Lyne Camara qualified for NAIA Nationals with a school-record time of 3:56.74.
The men’s 4x400 also set a school record. John Green, Dylan Felger, Isaac Beatty and Kyle Smith posted a converted time of 3:22.03.
Felger also lowered his own school record in the 400 with a time of 48.67 seconds, qualifying for NAIA Nationals in the process.
Isaac Brown won the high jump with a height of 6-feet-7, and Nordia Campbell posted a personal best in the 200 (25.61).
Sickafoose (58.68) and Stoltzfus (59.39) each had a PR in the 400. Kyle Smith (1:56.13), Luke Smith (1:58.72) and Isaac Beatty (1:57.11) all had season-best times in the 800.
Korry Hamlin had a PR in the 3,000 race at 8:50.81, and Dimitri Margaritidis and Logan Rufenacht both posted sub-4:30 mile times.
“This was a big meet for us as we look forward to our indoor league meet in two weeks,” said Grace head coach Jeff Raymond. “It’s exciting to see hard work pay off with national qualifiers and school records, but we certainly aren't satisfied. We still have work to do.”
The Lancers will take on the rest of the conference at the Crossroads League Indoor Championships. The two-day tournament will be held at Indiana Wesleyan on Feb. 14-15.
