MARION – A career-best performance from senior Dennis Williams was not enough to propel Grace College’s men’s basketball team to an upset of No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan. Williams poured in 26 points to lead all scorers, but a late rally from the Lancers (9-2, 1-1 Crossroads League) came up short as IWU won 85-80 on Tuesday night. The first half was tightly contested as the defending national champ Wildcats (10-0, 2-0 CL) held a slight lead for much of the period. Grace led 7-4 early, but the host Wildcats responded with a 14-6 run to grab the lead. Grace battled back to tie the game at 27-27 and took a lead 34-33 on a three-pointer from Niko Read on the Lancers’ final possession of the half. IWU, however, scored just before the buzzer to go on top 35-34 at the break. Grace continued to stay within striking distance in the early minutes of the second half, trailing 45-41 with 15 minutes to play. But the Wildcats used a 10-4 run over the next three minutes to open up a double-digit lead and had more offense in store. Indiana Wesleyan built up its cushion to 18 points with 5:22 to play before Grace made a late rally. After forcing IWU to the free throw line, Grace capitalized on missed Wildcat free throws to eventually trim their deficit to two possessions in the final 20 seconds. Logan Irwin was instrumental in Grace’s comeback with nine points over the final four minutes of regulation. A layup from Drew Perrin brought Grace to within five points, but it proved to be too little, too late. Williams made 10 of 12 attempts from the floor for his career-best 26 points. He also added four rebounds. Irwin finished with 16 points, five assists and four rebounds. Read tallied 14 points, three assists and two steals, Erik Bowen scored nine points in 13 minutes off the bench, and Caleb Featherston added five points and five assists. Lane Mahurin led IWU with 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Josh Mawhorr scored 16 points, Bob Peters added 10 points and Zac Vandewater, Irwin’s teammate at Whitko High School, scored eight points. Both teams finished with 36 rebounds, and Grace had two fewer turnovers (15 to 13). The Wildcats connected on 54 percent of their field goals compared to 42 percent for the Lancers. The Lancers’ next Crossroads League contest is on Saturday when they host a doubleheader with Goshen. The women’s squads will play at 1 p.m. at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center, while the men’s game is set to tip off at 3 p.m.
