WINONA LAKE - In its previous three games, Grace College's men's basketball team provided plenty of offense, scoring an average of 100 points per contest.
The Lancers improved to 4-0 Saturday afternoon with a 68-50 win over the Mid-Continent University Cougars (3-3) in the championship game of the Terry Polston Hoops For Hope Tournament, and it was his team's defense that veteran coach Jim Kessler praised."The thing I was really pleased with was that we only gave up 50 points," said Kessler, whose team gave up just 50 points the night before in a 50-point win over Temple Baptist in the semifinal round of the tournament at the Orthopaedic Capital Center.
"We put it on the board, that we wanted to hold them to 50 points," he continued. "When you hold a team to 50 points you're gonna be in the game."
The Lancers were more than in the game Saturday, they controlled it from the onset.
Grace College never trailed in the contest and held a double-digit lead the majority of the game.
Clinging to a 15-13 lead, the host Lancers went on a 16-1 and eventually led 31-18 at halftime.
The Cougars got no closer than 11 points the remainder of the game.
"Every win is a big win, but this one was really good because (Mid-Continent) had a lot of size," said Grace College sophomore point guard Bruce Grimm Jr.
In its first three games of the season, Grace College didn't face a player taller than 6-foot-6. The Lancers were much taller on the court and the scoreboard, as they won by margins of 19, 51 and 50 points.
Saturday's game against Mid-Continent was a different story, though the outcome was the same - a commanding win by the Lancers.
The Cougars' starting lineup featured 6-11 junior Brenton Butler, 6-9 junior Chris Ferguson and 6-8 senior Brian Reid.
Ferguson led Mid-Continent with 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Butler and Reid combined to shoot 1 of 16 from the field. Between them, Butler and Reid scored four points and pulled down four rebounds.
For the Lancers, 6-11 junior Duke Johnson led the way with 19 points and 11 rebounds. His fourth double-double of the season earned him tournament MVP honors.
"Duke is a good player," said Kessler. "He can score on people his size too. We were really able to get the ball inside. Look at the assists, we had 17 assists, Mid-Continent had six. We did a good job there."
The Lancers also got 11 points, seven boards and four assists from Grimm, while senior guard David Henry chipped in with 12 points and four assists.
Henry scored all 12 of his points behind the arc.
During Grace's 16-1 run in the first half, Henry hit two three-pointers, breathing life into an area of the game the Lancers have struggled with this season.
"I thought David Henry hit some big shots for us," said Kessler. "We'll find our shooting touch. We've got some shooters on this team, and when we need it, it'll be there."
Freshman Greg Miller contributed seven points and six rebounds in the win, while sophomore Tannan Peters chipped in with seven points and five boards.
Joining Johnson on the all-tournament team were Henry, Merrell, Ferguson, Tim Bryant (Mid-Continent), Jordan Schmackers (Wright State Lake) and Kendall Cunningham (Temple Baptist).
Temple Baptist beat Wright State Lake 68-64 in Saturday's consolation game.
The Lancers will be in action again Tuesday when they play seventh-ranked Indiana University-Southeast.
The game will be played at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis following the Indiana Pacers' game with the Atlanta Hawks, which starts at 7 p.m.
GRACE COLLEGE 68, MID-CONTINENT 50
MC 18 32 - 50
GC 31 37 - 68
Mid-Con - Chris Ferguson 7-11 0-4 14, Tim Bryant 4-12 5-7 13, Tyler Huston 0-2 0-0 0, Brian Reid 1-7 0-0 2, Brenton Butler 0-9 2-4 2, Chris Tillman 1-4 0-0 3, Christian Jernigan 4-6 2-6 11, Reggie Elkins 1-3 0-0 3, Lance Buckler 0-3 0-0 0, Mark Vaughn 1-3 0-2 2, Maurice Bynum 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 19-63 9-23 50.
Grace - David Henry 4-9 0-0 12, Dayton Merrell 2-4 3-4 7, Greg Miller 3-4 1-2 7, Bruce Grimm Jr. 5-16 0-0 11, Duke Johnson 8-15 3-4 19, Lee Ross 0-0 0-0 0, Jacob Peattie 1-1 0-0 2, Elliot Smith 1-4 2-2 5, Tannan Peters 1-3 1-2 3, Dennis Williams 1-1 0-1 2. Totals 26-57 10-15 68.
