MISHAWAKA – Jim Kessler was looking for a dominating performance in the paint. That's exactly what the veteran Grace College men's basketball coach got from 6-foot-11 senior Duke Johnson. In a battle with Mid-Central College Conference rival Bethel at the Wiekamp Center in Mishawaka, Johnson's 15 points and 18 rebounds led the fifth-ranked Lancers to a 77-69 win over the Pilots. "Our goal was to control the paint," said Kessler, whose team improved to 16-2 overall and 6-1 in the MCC. "Duke scores 15 points and grabs 18 rebounds, inclucing seven offensive rebounds. He had a monster day on the boards." Grace's perimeter play wasn't bad either, as junior Elliot Smith – who missed Saturday's win over Taylor with an ankle injury – made five of the Lancers' three-pointers and finished with a team-high 17 points. Junior Bruce Grimm Jr. and freshman Karl Columbus scored 12 points each for the Lancers, who were without the services of sophomore starting forward Greg Miller (groin injury). "Elliot Smith is a great shooter," said Kessler. "When he gets it going, he's dangerous. This team is starting to figure out what we have to do to win. We had a lot of people do some good things." Bethel fell to 12-7 overall and 3-4 in the MCC. After taking care of business against the Pilots, and with the three teams tied for second-place losing Tuesday night, Grace now has a two-game lead in the 10-team MCC. The game, which was the 117th meeting of the two rivals, wasn't as close as the final score indicated. Grace closed the first half on an 18-6 run, led 44-29 at the break and Bethel didn't cut the deficit under 10 until a three-pointer in the closing seconds. "Bethel is a very capable team," said Kessler. "I thought we did a good job of taking some things away from them." The Pilots, who hold a slim 59-58 advatage in the overall series with Grace, shot just 36 percent from the field in the loss, while the Lancers made 49 percent of their shots. Freshman Zach Miller led Bethel with a game-high 21 points, while freshman Matt Schauss added 15 poins and freshman Nick Lewis chipped in with 10 points. The Lancers are in action again Saturday when they host conference foe St. Francis at 3 p.m. at the Orthopaedic Capital Center.
GRACE 77, BETHEL 69 Grace 44 33 – 77 Bethel 29 40 – 69 Grace – Dayton Merrell 1-4 0-0 2, Dennis Williams 1-2 2-6 4, Duke Johnson 6-12 2-8 15, Jacob Peattie 3-5 0-0 6, Bruce Grimm Jr. 5-14 1-2 12, Lee Ross 0-2 0-0 0, Niko Read 1-1 0-0 2, Elliot Smith 6-10 0-0 17, Benjamin Euler 0-0 1-2 1, Tannan Peters 2-5 2-2 6, Karl Columbus 6-8 0-1 12. Totals 31-63 8-21 77. Bethel – Landon Booker 2-6 1-4 5, Matt Schauss 3-11 8-12 15, Zach Miller 7-13 4-4 21, Ryan Benner 0-1 0-0 0, Patrick Oetting 1-4 0-0 2, Steve Ward 1-1 0-0 3, Cody Cochran 3-7 0-0 7, Taylor Kolbus 0-1 0-0 0, Nick Lewis 3-8 3-4 10, Brandon Gerber 0-4 1-2 1, Michael Mislan 0-1 0-0 0, Darrell Hopkins 2-5 1-5 5. Totals 22-62 18-31 69. Three-pointers – Grace 7 (Smith 7, Grimm, Johnson), Bethel 7 (Miller 3, Schauss, Ward, Cochran, Lewis); Rebounds – Grace 43 (Johnson 18), Bethel 44 (Oetting 8, Hopkins 8); Turnovers – Grace 9, Bethel 12; Fouls – Grace 21, Bethel 16; Fouled out – Oetting; Records: Grace 16-2 (6-1 MCC), Bethel 12-7 (3-4 MCC)
