Bowen, Irwin help Grace College men stay undefeated
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Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
WINONA LAKE – There was nothing flashy or fancy about Erik Bowen's effort Saturday in the championship game of the annual Terry Polston Hoops For Hope Tournament. The 6-foot-6 Grace College sophomore’s effort was simply that ... effort, as he led the NAIA Division II 14th-ranked Lancers to a hard-fought 72-66 win over the Grace Bible College Tigers at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center. Against a Grace Bible team that was simply bigger and stronger in the post than the Lancers, Bowen's blue-collar effort led him to a 19-point, 13-rebound performance. Bowen tallied 15 points and nine boards in the second half alone, fighting for position in the paint possession after possession, and was named the tournament's most valuable player. “That's a huge part of my game. Just playing hard gets me a lot of position on the court,” said Bowen. “We got off to a slow start in the first half and we knew we had to improve. Energy was a lot of it, just being more intense. They battled us to the end. This was a really good test for us. Bringing out the passion and the energy on the court in the second half really helped us.” With the win, the Lancers improved to 6-0 on the season, while Grace Bible fell to 4-2. Purdue-Calumet beat Great Lakes Christian 89-53 in the consolation game. “It was not a pretty game, but I will give people credit, when it came down to it they just got after it,” said Grace College coach Jim Kessler. “We got defensive stops, battled for the rebound, and we made some huge shots.” The game featured 12 lead changes and 11 ties. Senior point guard Logan Irwin gave the Lancers the lead for good with a three-pointer that made it 66-64. Irwin pushed his team's advantage to 68-64 with a pair of free throws with 1:00 remaining. After the Tigers trimmed the deficit to two, 68-66, Irwin banked in a jumper near the free throw line with 23 seconds left, and freshman Josh Ruggles finished the game's scoring with a pair of charity tosses with 11 seconds on the clock. Irwin, who scored 14 points in the second half, finished the game with 18 points and three assists and joined Bowen on the all-tournament team. Ruggles chipped in with 13 points, while senior Kyle Fillman added seven points and five boards, and senior Brandon Vanderhegghen and junior Eric Miller scored six and five points, respectively, in the win. “Logan made some huge shots,” said Kessler. “He wasn’t shooting particularly well, but when the game’s on the line, the kid’s a winner. His teammates believe in him.” Bernard Smith and Conner Crawford scored 12 points each for the Tigers, while Rod Altidore and Jared Bradford scored 10 points each. Smith and Bradford were named to the all-tournament team, as were Ezra Beckwith of Great Lakes Christian and LaBradford Sebree of Purdue-Calumet. The Lancers will hit the road for two games this week before returning to the MOCC for the Crossroads League opener on Nov. 24 against Taylor University. Grace plays at Lincoln Christian (Ill.) Thursday and at Clarke University (Iowa) Friday.
GRACE COLLEGE 72, GRACE BIBLE 66 GB 30 36 – 66 GC 29 43 – 72 Grace Bible – Rod Altidor 2-7 6-8 10, Jared Bradford 4-15 0-0 10, Grant Garrison 2-4 0-1 4, Conner Crawford 5-7 2-2 12, Bernard Smith 4-4 4-4 12, Matt Jensen 0-2 0-0 0, Gabe Baric 3-5 0-0 8, Austin Jackson 2-4 2-2 6, B.J. Van Loo 1-1 0-0 2, Marcus Chandler 1-1 0-0 2, Lucas McKian 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-50 14-17 66. Grace College – Eric Miller 2-2 0-0 5, Caleb Featherston 0-2 0-0 0, Kyle Fillman 2-3 3-6 7, Logan Irwin 5-9 5-8 18, Brandon Vanderhegghen 2-10 2-3 6, Josh Ruggles 3-10 4-4 13, Stephen Halstead 0-2 0-0 0, Drew Perrin 0-0 0-0 0, Logan Godfrey 0-1 2-2 2, Chad Hoffer 1-1 0-0 2, Erik Bowen 8-15 3-6 19. Totals 23-55 19-29 72. Three-pointers – Grace Bible 4 (Bradford 2, Baric 2), Grace College 7 (Ruggles 3, Irwin 3, Miller); Rebounds – Grace Bible 30 (Smith 8), Grace College 36 (Bowen 13); Turnovers – Grace Bible 14, Grace College 9; Fouls – Grace Bible 24, Grace College 20; Fouled out – Smith; Records: Grace Bible 4-2, Grace College 6-0
Consolation: Purdue-Calumet 89, Great Lakes Chr. 53
All-tournament team: Erick Bowen (Grace Coll., MVP), Logan Irwin (Grace Coll.), Jared Bradford (Grace Bible), Bernard Smith (Grace Bible), Ezra Beckwith (GLC), LaBradford Sebree (Purdue-Calumet)
