WINONA LAKE – While the temperatures outside were frigid, the action inside the Orthopaedic Capital Center Tuesday evening was sizzling. In a matchup of Top 25 NAIA Division II men’s basketball teams, the 20th-ranked Grace College Lancers toppled No. 3 Indiana Wesleyan 80-77. And on a night when both teams’ offenses were in high gear, both shooting at least 50 percent from the field, a key defensive play by Grace’s Greg Miller had a lot to do with the final outcome. With the scored tied at 75 and 1:10 remaining in the game, Miller stole a pass intended for Indiana Wesleyan’s Patrick Hopkins. Seconds later, Miller scored on an assist from Bruce Grimm Jr., drawing Hopkins’ fifth foul. Miller converted the old-fashioned three-point play, and the Lancers went on to snap their eight-game losing streak to the Wildcats. “Down the stretch, we executed some things we talked about,” said Grace coach Jim Kessler, whose team improved to 16-6 overall and 8-3 in the Crossroads League standings. “At this point in the season, you have to get it done, there’s no more being tentative.” Grimm added a free throw with 17 seconds left, pushing the Lancers’ lead to 79-75. A bucket by Wesleyan’s D.J. Bettinger trimmed the deficit to 79-77 with seven seconds remaining, and Grace’s Elliot Smith accounted for the final score when he hit 1 of 2 charity tosses with just under five seconds to play. Wesleyan’s Jordan Weidner, who made just about every shot he took all night en route to a game-high 30 points, was fouled intentionally by Smith with just under two ticks on the clock. The heady play by Smith put Weidner at the free throw line for two shots, rather than allowing the Wildcats’ sharp-shooter to attempt a game-tying trey. Weidner, who finished the game 10 of 13 from the field overall and 7 of 10 from the arc, was short on his first attempt, and then missed the second on purpose. His intentional miss didn’t hit the rim, and Grace inbounded the ball with 1.8 seconds left and ran the clock out. “Some games, we’ve been close and just didn’t make plays down the stretch,” said Kessler. “Tonight we were able to finish. This is a great team win. I thought we came out from the opening tip and really played to win. The guys gave a great effort.” The Lancers led 45-40 at halftime and finished the game 26 of 52 (50 percent) from the field overall, 6 of 13 from the arc, and 22 of 28 from the free throw line. Miller tallied yet another double-double for the Lancers, leading the way with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Grimm added 18 points and eight rebounds, and Smith chipped in with 17 points. In the rich history of Grace’s men’s basketball program, 45 players have scored 1,000 points in a career. This year’s team is the first to have three 1,000-point scorers on it – Grimm, Miller and Smith. “We needed those guys tonight,” Kessler said of his talented trio. “We also got huge contributions from other guys. A couple of our young guys, Brandon Vanderhegghen and Karl Columbus, came up big. They didn’t just give us minutes, they made plays.” Vanderhegghen, a freshman, finished with nine points, while Columbus, a sophomore, added six points and seven rebounds. Caleb Featherston, also a freshman, grabbed seven boards as well. “This is a great team win,” said Kessler. “I think Wesleyan is still the best all-around team in the conference, but we played well tonight. We beat a very good team.” With the loss, Indiana Wesleyan fell to 20-3 overall and 9-2 in league play. The Wildcats were 26 of 51 (51 percent) from the field overall, 11 of 23 from the arc, and 14 of 24 at the charity stripe. Bethel, ranked 12th in the latest national poll, leads the Crossroads League with a 10-1 record, followed by Indiana Wesleyan, Grace, Taylor (8-3), St. Francis (6-5), Marian (5-6), Spring Arbor (4-7), Huntington (3-8), Mount Vernon Nazarene (2-9) and Goshen (0-11). Along with his game-high 30 points, Weidner grabbed seven rebounds and dished out seven assists for the Wildcats. Hopkins scored 15 points before fouling out, while Bettinger added 10 points. Zac Vandewater, a former Whitko High School standout, scored nine points and pulled down five rebounds before fouling out. The Lancers are in action again Saturday at Huntington, while Indiana Wesleyan travels to Mount Vernon. “It’s nice to get a win like this, but we can’t let up,” said Kessler. “We have to go to Huntington Saturday and take care of business.”
GRACE 80, INDIANA WESLEYAN 77 IW 40 37 – 77 Gr 45 35 – 80 IW – D.J. Bettinger 4-8 0-0 10, Aaron Martin 1-5 0-0 3, Zac Vandewater 3-7 2-4 9, Patrick Hopkins 6-10 3-5 15, Jordan Weidner 10-13 3-5 30, Darrian Mikell 0-0 0-0 0, Taylor Schoen 0-1 0-2 0, Tyler Greathouse 0-1 0-0 0, Parker Stouffer 1-2 0-0 2, George Jones IV 1-4 6-8 8. Totals 26-51 14-24 77. Grace – Elliot Smith 4-8 8-10 17, Greg Miller 9-16 4-4 23, Karl Columbus 1-4 4-4 6, Jared Treadway 1-2 0-0 2, Bruce Grimm Jr. 6-13 5-8 18, Lee Ross 0-0 0-0 0, Caleb Featherston 0-1 1-2 1, Brandon Vanderhegghen 3-5 0-0 9, Dennis Williams 1-2 0-0 2, Kyle Fillman 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 26-52 22-28 80. Three-pointers – IW 11 (Weidner 7, Bettinger 2, Martin, Vandewater), Grace 6 (Vanderhegghen 3, Smith, Miller, Grimm); Rebounds – IW 27 (Weidner 7), Grace 34 (Miller 10); Turnovers – IW 11, Grace 13; Fouls – IW 23, Grace 18; Fouled out – Vandewater, Hopkins; Records: IW 20-3 (9-2 CL), Grace 16-6 (8-3 CL)
