HUNTINGTON – Grace College’s men’s basketball team pulled to within one game of the lead in the Crossroads League on Saturday thanks to its 81-75 victory at Huntington. The Lancers picked up their fourth straight victory on the strength of 25 points from Greg Miller and a career-high 17 from Karl Columbus. Grace’s win, coupled with a loss by Bethel, creates a logjam at the top of the league standings. The Lancers and Taylor are tied for third with a 9-3 league record, just behind the 10-2 records of co-leaders Indiana Wesleyan and Bethel. After a steady start to their game on Saturday, Grace’s offense blitzed the Foresters (12-12; 3-9 CL) to close out the first half. The Lancers trailed 27-21 with 7:32 to play but kicked their offense into high gear after that point. Grace outscored Huntington 23-5 over the final seven minutes to claim a 44-32 lead at halftime. Miller and Elliot Smith each buried a pair of three-pointers during Grace’s run, and Columbus scored seven more to flip the game in Grace’s favor. Grace, which shot 57 percent from the floor in the opening period, continued its marksmanship by making 15 of 30 in the second half. The Lancers added another 10-0 flurry midway through the second half to open up their largest lead of the game at 64-45. Huntington proved to be resilient, however. The Foresters made a trio of three-pointers and nine free throws to fuel their comeback as they pulled to within three at 72-69 with 5:21 to play. Bruce Grimm Jr. took matters into his own hands in the final minutes by scoring eight of Grace’s final nine points to stem Huntington’s momentum. Miller’s game-high 25 points and 10 rebounds came on 11-of-17 shooting. Columbus’s 17 points also came with three steals. Grimm finished with 10 points, six assists and three rebounds. Smith added 11 points and three assists, and Tannan Peters chipped in with eight points in 10 minutes off the bench. As a team, Grace recorded 18 assists on 32 made field goals. The Lancers also held a 34-26 advantage in rebounding. The Lancers will try for their fifth win in a row Tuesday when they host Spring Arbor at 7 p.m.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL WINONA LAKE – Grace’s women’s basketball team played evenly with Huntington for the first half of action. Their performance was drastically different in the second half, however, as the Lady Lancers fell 62-43 on Saturday. The Lady Lancers mustered just 16 points after halftime, allowing the Lady Foresters to pull away for the win. Huntington grabbed the first significant lead of the game as it went ahead 17-9 after nine minutes of action. Despite struggling on the offensive end in the opening period with 34-percent shooting, the Lady Lancers (15-9; 6-6 Crossroads League) kept themselves in contention by outhustling the Foresters (14-9; 6-6 CL). Grace grabbed eight offensive rebounds and forced the Foresters into 10 first-half turnovers as they clawed their way back into a 27-27 tie. Huntington got the last bucket of the half in the final seconds to take a 29-27 lead into the break. The Lady Foresters started to take control of the game shortly after halftime. Huntington scored 12 unanswered points to claim the first double-digit lead of the game and didn’t look back. The Lady Lancers’ offense went ice-cold as they tallied just four points over an 11-minute stretch. Huntington, meanwhile, opened up a 20-point lead en route to victory. Grace committed 14 turnovers in the second half. Grace missed 14 of its 18 field goal attempts after halftime (22 percent), including 0 of 3 beyond the arc. Huntington was the opposite by making 13 of 24 from the field (54 percent) in the second half and 47 percent overall for the game. No player for Grace reached double figures in scoring. Juaneice Jackson recorded nine points, five rebounds and two steals, and Allison Kauffman added eight points and four boards. JoEllen Fickel was productive off the bench with seven points and six rebounds in 18 minutes. The Lady Lancers will look to rebound Wednesday when they travel to Spring Arbor for a 7 p.m. tipoff.
