OAKLAND CITY - Grace junior forward Kyle Johnson ignited the Grace College Lancers in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) semifinals with a 90-72 victory over No. 3-seed Northwestern (Minn.) College on Friday night in Oakland City.Johnson scored a game-high 26 points on nine-of-10 shooting, including six-of-six from three-point land.
The Grace victory puts the Lancers into the NCCAA Championship game for the fourth time in program history. Grace looks to capture their first NCCAA Championship and their first national championship since the 1992 NAIA Division II Championship.
The No. 2-seeded Lancers raced out to an early 6-0 lead in the first minute and a half. Northwestern quickly answered the Grace run by scoring eight of the next 10 points to knot the score 8-8 with 15 minutes and 35 seconds left in the first half.
Grace scored the game's next six points to take a 14-8 lead. The Eagles responded with an 11-0 run over a four minute span to capture a 19-14 advantage. Grace answered with seven of the next nine points to lead 22-21 with 6:05 remaining before half.
The final six minutes of play featured one tie and four lead changes. As the Lancers trailed 29-27 with 2:23 to go in the half, Grace ended the period with an 8-0 run to head into intermission leading 35-29.
Northwestern chipped the Grace lead to two points at 39-37 just three minutes into the second half.
Grace exploded in the game's next five minutes as the Lancers charged to a 17-1 run to diminish any chances of victory for the Eagles. The Lancers led 56-38 with 12:57 remaining on the clock.
The Lancers were able to gain a 20 point lead at 62-42 and 11:01 remaining. Grace earned their largest lead of the game at 23 points when the Lancers led 84-61 with 2:52 left to play before advancing in the tournament with the 90-72 victory.
Grace shot 53.3-percent (32 of 60) from the field including 61.1-percent (11 of 18) from beyond the arc.
The Lancers out rebounded the Eagles 39-31.
Sophomore center Eric Gaff just missed his second consecutive double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds. Gaff blocked three Northwestern shots. Junior guard Marcus Moore added 16 points while sophomore guard Tyler Leighton chipped in with 10 points off the bench.
The Lancers improved to 23-11 on the season while Northwestern fell to 22-9.
Grace will play the winner of Emmanuel (Ga.) College and Bethel (Ind.) College in the NCCAA Championship game at 9 p.m. ET tonight. Listen to the game live via the Stretch Internet link on the Grace College athletic website.
