WINONA LAKE – The Grace College Lancers got off to a great start Wednesday night. The way they finished the game, well, that was a different story, as the Lancers fell to 8-8 overall and 0-5 in Crossroads League action with a 64-57 loss to the Spring Arbor Cougars at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center. In their first game since a 110-69 loss to rival Bethel, a loss in which Grace scored just 24 points in the second half, the Lancers looked inspired early in the game Wednesday night. Sophomore Logan Irwin came out shooting, making three of his first four three-point attempts. The Lancers were on a roll early. They looked like a different team, and a three-pointer by senior Greg Miller with just under eight minutes remaining in the first half gave Grace a 34-14 lead. And then things got interesting. For whatever reason, the Lancers couldn’t make a shot. Spring Arbor, now 8-9 overall and 3-2 in the Crossroads League, closed the first half on a 19-3 run. After scoring 34 points in the first 12 minutes of the game, Grace scored just 23 over the final 28 minutes. Grace College coach Jim Kessler was frustrated, and he didn’t really have an answer for his team’s latest meltdown. “You have to be able to finish the game,” said Kessler. “We don’t have that ability right now, and I don’t know why. At some point, you have to make shots. You have to make plays. We didn’t do that. I don’t know why.” Spring Arbor extended its run to 31-9, taking its first lead of the game with 13:25 remaining when sophomore Jiles Neeley’s bucket gave the Cougars a 45-43 advantage. The teams battled back and forth the rest of the way, but Grace just didn’t appear to be as confident as it was at the start of the game. Kessler, whose connection with the program as either a player or coach dates back to the 1960s, said he can’t remember another season in which the Lancers lost their first three conference games of the season. Grace, which was 13-5 in the Crossroads League last season, is 0-5 and faces a challenge Saturday when it travels to No. 14 St. Francis. St. Francis beat No. 5 Bethel 81-68 in Mishawaka Wednesday night. At 5-0, St. Francis is the only unbeaten team in league play. “It doesn’t get any easier,” Kessler said of Saturday’s trip to Fort Wayne. “This league is tough. We have to find a way to close games.” Grace has let leads slip away time and time again this season. Though the Lancers are 8-8 overall, it’s not too far-fetched to think they could be 15-1. “Yeah, if we could close games,” said Kessler. Miller tallied 15 points and 11 rebouns for Grace, while Irwin finished with 15 points and five assists. Junior Niko Read scored nine points. Senior Rob Hogans led Spring Arbor with 22 points, while sophomore Greg Hamilton added 18 points and freshman Thomas Starks chipped in with 12 points and nine boards.
