INDIANAPOLIS – Grace College’s men’s basketball team upset its third NAIA Top-25 ranked opponent of the season, toppling No. 19 Marian 76-59 on Tuesday. The Lancers (14-5, 4-3 Crossroads League) won their fourth straight road contest. They also snapped a five-year losing drought in Indianapolis — a losing streak at Marian dating back to Dec. 2, 2008. Niko Read had an exceptional shooting performance for a team-high 23 points. The Grace senior hit 7 of 10 shots from the floor, was 4 of 4 from the free throw line and made 5 of 5 three-point attempts. Grace’s offense got off to a fast start, as the Lancers quickly opened up a 15-6 lead after making seven of their first 10 shots. The score remained stuck at 25-18 in Grace’s favor for a few minutes. A jump shot from Logan Irwin broke the scoring drought for both sides with three minutes left in the half. Grace went into halftime leading 31-25. The Lancers shot 58 percent from the floor and turned the ball over only twice. Marian, on the other hand, struggled to 35 percent shooting. But the Knights grabbed seven offensive boards to stay within striking distance. The Lancers forced a quick Marian timeout in the second half after Kyle Fillman scored back-to-back buckets. After the Knights scored out of the timeout, Fillman responded with an and-1 to put Grace ahead by double figures. From that point on, Grace’s lead was never truly threatened. The Lancers rode the hot shooting of Read to establish a 20-point cushion. Read drilled three straight treys to give Grace a 53-31 advantage. He added two free throws and his fifth trey of the game minutes later to hand Grace a 26-point lead. At one point, Read outscored Marian 14-5 by himself. Grace coasted down the stretch, allowing 13 players to see the court and 10 players to score. Overall, the Lancers bettered the Knights in nearly every statistical category. Grace hit 60 percent from the floor compared to 40 percent for the Knights. Grace also outrebounded Marian by nine. The Lancers hit 56 percent on three-pointers and 90 percent on free throws. Fillman finished the game with 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting to go along with five rebounds. Dennis Williams scored eight points, and Irwin, Erik Bowen and Brandon Vanderhegghen chipped in with six points each. The Lancers, winners of four of their past five games, will travel to Huntington on Saturday for a 3 p.m. matchup.
