WINONA LAKE – Jim Kessler is no stranger to how all this works. While the season is far from over, the veteran Grace College men's basketball coach knows his team has to defend its homecourt to be in the running for a Crossroads League championship. The NAIA Division II ninth-ranked Lancers certainly took care of business at the Orthapaedic Captial Center Saturday, beating league foe Goshen College 82-64. As a result of of their 18-point victory over the Maple Leafs, which came in a contest that saw little drama other than three Goshen players and one Grace player ejected for a skirmish in the final seconds of the first half, the Lancers are now 12-4 overall and 4-1 in conference play. “In this league, you have to defend your homecourt,” said Kessler, whose team is 8-0 at the OCC this season. “We want to win a conference championship, and to do that, you have to win at home. A perfect example of that is Indiana Wesleyan.” Indiana Wesleyan, the only blemish in Grace’s conference record, entered its home game Saturday against Spring Arbor ranked third in the country and with a 15-1 record overall and a 4-0 mark in the Crossroads League. That obviously didn't matter to Spring Arbor, which upset Indiana Wesleyan 58-48 for its first conference win of the season. “Records don't matter in this league, you have to come ready to play,” said Kessler. “Indiana Wesleyan was undefeated in the conference, Spring Arbor hadn't won a game. It doesn't matter. You better be ready to play. That's what we're trying to get through to our players.” Bethel sits atop the Crossroads League with a 5-0 record, while Grace, Indiana Wesleyan and Taylor are all 4-1. St. Francis is 3-2, Marian and Huntington are 2-3, Spring Arbor is 1-4 and Mt. Vernon and Goshen are both 0-5. The league standings will certainly shake out some more this week, as Grace plays at Taylor Tuesday, hosts Bethel Thursday, and plays at St. Francis Saturday. “This week is an important stretch for us,” said Kessler. “We better be on top of our game.” The Lancers were on top of their game Saturday, as they shot 57 percent from the field and held Goshen to 39-percent shooting. Three players scored in double figures for Grace, led by junior Greg Miller's 16 points. Freshman Brandon Vanderhegghen added 14 points and senior Elliot Smith chipped in with 11. Senior Bruce Grimm Jr. tallied seven points and six assists, while sophomore Niko Read and freshman Kyle Fillman scored seven and six points, respectively. “One our strengths is our depth,” said Kessler. “We've got a lot of pieces. We're still getting better. We're not there yet.” In all, 11 players scored for the Lancers. Grace's bench outscored Goshen's bench 42-12, and the Lancers outrebounded the Maple Leafs 39-26. Matt Glick led Goshen with 17 points, while Jerron Jamerson scored 11 points and Stefon Luckey and Matthew Martin chipped in with 10 and nine points, respectively.
GRACE 82, GOSHEN 64 Go 27 37 – 64 Gr 49 33 – 82 Goshen – Matthew Martin 3-8 1-2 9, Matt Glick 8-13 1-1 17, Stefon Luckey 3-10 3-4 10, Jerron Jamerson 3-8 5-10 11, Kyle Davis 2-4 1-4 5, Thomas Leonard 0-1 3-4 3, Tavo Parral 1-2 0-0 3, Jake Clemens 1-5 0-0 2, Trevor Commissaris 2-7 0-3 4, Jan Zawadzki 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-59 14-28 64. Grace – Caleb Featherston 2-2 0-0 5, Elliot Smith 5-8 0-0 11, Greg Miller 7-11 2-2 16, Karl Columbus 2-3 0-0 4, Jared Treadway 2-2 0-0 4, Lee Ross 2-2 0-0 5, Morgan Michalski 0-2 0-0 0, Niko Read 3-6 0-0 7, Brandon Vanderhegghen 6-10 0-0 14, Bruce Grimm Jr. 3-6 0-2 7, Dennis Williams 1-4 1-1 3, Kyle Fillman 2-4 2-2 6, Adrian Makolli 0-2 0-2 0. Totals 35-62 5-9 82. Three-pointers – Goshen 4 (Martin 2, Luckey, Parral), Grace 7 (Vanderhegghen 2, Featherston, Smith, Ross, Read, Grimm); Rebounds – Goshen 26 (Martin 8), Grace 39 (Miller 6, Fillman 6); Turnovers – Goshen 14, Grace 17; Fouls – Goshen 10, Grace 23; Fouled out – none; Records: Goshen 7-9 (0-5 CL), Grace 12-4 (4-1 CL)
