WINONA LAKE – The bottom line, Grace College men’s basketball coach Jim Kessler said in a stern voice, you have to put points on the scoreboard. Kessler’s 21st-ranked Lancers struggled to do so Tuesday night, particularly in the last five minutes of the game, and fell 65-60 to No. 13 Marian University. In a Crossroads League battle of top 25 teams in the latest NAIA Division II national poll, the Lancers led 60-53 with nearly 4-1/2 minutes remaining. Though Grace was struggling to score points, the Lancers were playing well enough on defense and were effectively slowing a Marian team that averages 80 points per game. Grace’s seven-point lead with 4:24 remaining seemed safe. The Knights, however, closed the game on a 12-0 run and improved to 18-3 overall and 6-3 in the Crossroads League standings. The Lancers, who had won eight of their previous nine games, fell to 16-5 and 6-3. “They’re one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country,” Kessler said of the Knights, who were just 3 of 17 from the arc Tuesday. “They shot 17 percent from the three-point line tonight. “Now, we let them score inside, we just had no answer for (Dion) Smith. He lit us up ... 10 of 14, 1 of 1 from the arc, 5 of 6 at the free throw line ... 26 points. He had a great night. And we were broke. “Our big guy (sophomore Erik Bowen) had 18 points, and our perimeter guys were broke. You have to put some points on the board to win. You can defend terrificly, and I thought we did that, but the bottom line is you have to put points on the board. Sixty points in a college game ... come on.” Despite shooting 34 percent from the field in the first half, Grace led 29-27 at the intermission. The Knights outscored the Lancers 38-31 in the second half. In a five-point loss, Grace was outscored 34-26 in the paint, as the Lancers missed shot after shot in the lane. The Lancers finished the game 25 of 66 from the field overall, 6 of 22 from the arc, and 4 of 6 at the charity stripe. Marian was 25 of 56 overall, 3 of 17 at the arc, and 12 of 15 at the free throw line. “We’ve averaged 77 points a game, and the last couple games have been better, but you can’t score 60 points and expect to beat a college basketball team,” said Kessler. “Even though we held them way under their average, it didn’t matter, we couldn’t put points on the board. Our best-scoring people were just broke tonight.” Senior Logan Irwin was just 4 of 12 from the field for nine points in the loss, while backcourt mate Brandon Vanderhegghen, who last week was the NAIA National Player of the Week, was 2 of 10 and scored eight points. Senior Kyle Fillman scored eight points for Grace, while senior Caleb Featherson and freshman Josh Ruggles chipped in with six points each, and sophomore Chad Hoffer scored five points. Tuesday’s game ended the first half of the Crossroads League schedule. Third-ranked St. Francis sits alone atop the league standings at 7-2, while No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan, No. 9 Bethel, No. 13 Marian and No. 21 Grace are all 6-3. The Lancers open the second half of the league schedule Saturday when they host Bethel at 3 p.m. “Every game is important in this league,” said Kessler. “So now we’re 6-3, which isn’t terrible, but we could have been ranked higher and been tied for the league lead. Now we just have to go play. We can’t whine about it. We better be ready to play Saturday.” To go with Smith’s 26 points, Marian got 12 points from Wesley Stowers and eight points each from Dwight Cliff and Nick Painter.
MARIAN 65, GRACE 60 Marian 27 38 – 65 Grace 29 31 – 60 Marian – Dwight Cliff 4-7 0-0 8, Dion Smith 10-14 5-6 26, Caleb Begle 2-4 1-2 6, Wesley Stowers 4-15 4-4 12, Chad Roberts 0-3 0-0 0, Jake Mills 2-6 0-0 5, Darius Mitchell 0-0 0-0 0, Nick Painter 3-7 2-3 8. Totals 25-56 12-15 65. Grace – Caleb Featherston 3-8 0-2 6, Kyle Fillman 4-7 0-0 8, Erik Bowen 9-16 0-0 18, Logan Irwin 4-12 0-0 9, Brandon Vanderhegghen 2-10 2-2 8, Josh Ruggles 2-4 0-0 6, Stephen Halstead 0-0 0-0 0, Tre Olive 0-3 0-0 0, Logan Godfrey 0-1 0-0 0, Chad Hoffer 1-5 2-2 5. Totals 25-66 4-6 60. Three-pointers – Marian 3 (Smith, Begle, Mills), Grace 6 (Vanderhegghen 2, Ruggles 2, Irwin, Hoffer); Rebounds – Marian 35 (Begle 8), Grace 35 (Bowen 10); Turnovers – Marian 14, Grace 11; Fouls – Marian 12, Grace 17; Fouled out – none; Records: Marian 18-3 (6-3 CL), Grace 16-5 (6-3 CL)
