INDIANAPOLIS – Grace College’s men’s basketball team enjoyed an 85-77 win over IU-Southeast at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Friday. Brandon Vanderhegghen led the Lancers (9-3) with 20 points while playing at the home of the NBA’s Indiana Pacers. The Lancers struggled to slow the Grenadiers (4-7) in the opening half and faced a six-point deficit with 1:25 remaining in the opening period, but Logan Irwin buried a three-pointer to cut the gap in half, and a last-second basket by Erik Bowen tied the score 40-40 at the break. Grace was outrebounded by three in the opening half and allowed IU-Southeast to shoot 47 percent from the floor, including 5 of 11 from beyond the arc. Caleb Featherston gave Grace a lift to start the second half. Featherston scored on three straight possessions, including a rebound putback dunk to spark the Lancers. Featherston’s last jumper gave Grace a 52-40 lead, capping off a 12-0 run to start the second half. IU-Southeast was unable to cut into Grace’s lead for the next 11 minutes. With 5:01 to play, the Grenadiers made a push. IU-Southeast used a 14-5 spurt to pull within four and trailed 69-65. Vanderhegghen and Josh Ruggles silenced the Grenadiers’ threat from the arc. The duo drained back-to-back triples to extend Grace’s lead back up to double figures, and IU-Southeast was unable to make another rally. Grace nailed 50 percent of its shots and had a plus-seven advantage on the glass over the final 20 minutes. For the game, over half of Grace’s points were in the paint. Bowen had the only double-double in the game, tallying 13 points and 16 rebounds to go along with five assists. Featherston and Kyle Fillman scored 12 points each, and Chad Hoffer produced 13 points, five rebounds and four assists. Logan Irwin finished the game with nine points, eight assists and three rebounds. Next up, the Lancers take a trip to the west coast. Grace will play Menlo and Cal-Maritime in California next weekend.
