Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
WINONA LAKE - Grace College's men's basketball team hosted "Poster Night" Tuesday, and while the game was far from picture perfect, the win made the autograph session afterward a festive time.
"We've done this on occasion when we haven't won," Grace coach Jim Kessler said. "This makes the signing a lot a more fun."
The Lancers improved to 4-6 with a 82-68 win over Indiana Unversity-South Bend (3-6).
Junior guard Ben Tonagel, who hit key free throws late in the game, led the Lancers with 19 points. Sophomore forward Lawrence Burnett added 17 points, while sophomore guard Ryan Bricker added 14 and junior forward Teryck Taylor 13.
Transition baskets helped the Lancers to their fourth win of the season.
With Grace leading 69-67 in the second half, Bricker hit a layup, drew a foul and made the free throw to extend the Lancer lead to 72-67 with 2:55 left. His three-point play ignited a 13-1 run by Grace to close out the game.
Bricker followed the layup with another layup on an outlet pass from Taylor with 1:27 to go, extending the lead to 74-67.
Tonagel sealed the win at the free throw line, making 6 of 6 free throws in the final 1:18.
IUSB, with no player taller than 6-foot-6, came in with the reputation of heaving three-pointers, and heave they did. The Titans, who made 13 of 26 in their last game, attempted 17 against Grace - by halftime.
Problem was, only four of the 17 went in. All the misses led to long rebounds, which the Lancers turned into transition baskets.
"The game was a game of spurts," Kessler said. "When we were able to get some boards, we were able to run. That's something we need to try to do more of. You can run off misses."
No one benefited more than the 6'4' Taylor, a high-flyer who delivered three of Grace's four dunks in the game, including a tomahawk jam from the left wing and a two-handed slam after he stole the ball near halfcourt.
On "Poster Night," Taylor posterized IUSB's players.
"Four dunks may have been the most we've ever had in a game," Kessler said. "It's not something we try to do, but it shows we attack the basket."
Dunks or no dunks, the fast-break points the Lancers scored late in the first half saw them go on a 12-0 run to turn a 26-22 deficit with 5:00 before halftime into a 34-26 lead with 1:15 to go. The Lancers led 40-30 at halftime, but the Titans outscored the Lancers 21-11 in the first nine minutes of the second half to tie the game at 51-51 with 11:38 remaining. The teams traded baskets for the next eight minutes until Bricker's three-point play helped Grace pull away.
IUSB finished the game 6 of 28 (21 percent) behind the three-point arc.
"This is very atypical from the way they shoot the basketball," Kessler said. "We didn't do a very good job in the first half of getting out on their shooters. We gave them some good looks at the basket that scared me. They missed their shots, but I knew if we didn't do a better job of defending in the second half, that would change.
"We put more pressure on the perimeter in the second half, but then they started penetrating on us."
GRACE COLLEGE 82, IUSB 68
IUSB (3-6) 30 38 - 68
Grace (4-6) 40 42 - 42
Grace FG FT A S R Pts.
Tonagel (G) 5-12 6-6 3 1 2 19
Bricker (F) 5-19 2-3 3 0 1 14
Taylor (F) 6-10 1-5 2 2 11 13
Moore (G) 2-4 0-0 6 2 6 4
Scharlach (F) 4-8 1-2 0 0 7 9
Burnett 8-12 1-2 3 2 9 17
Brown 2-2 2-5 1 1 3 6
O'Dell 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Swanson 0-4 0-0 1 0 3 0
Totals 32-71 13-23 19 8 50 82
IUSB FG FT A S R Pts.
Keiser (F) 6-12 6-9 0 1 8 19
Miller (G) 4-10 2-2 2 3 7 13
Betzner (G) 4-14 5-6 4 0 7 13
Chelmniak (G) 1-4 4-6 4 0 3 7
Herring (F) 1-8 3-4 2 0 5 6
Ham 2-6 2-2 1 0 2 6
O'Brian 2-5 0-0 0 1 1 4
Wright 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0
Remley 0-4 0-0 0 1 2 0
Hickey 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0
Totals 20-63 22-29 13 8 44 68
Three-point goals - IUSB 6-28 (Miller 3-7, Herring 1-6, Keiser 1-4, Chelmniak 1-2, Betzner 0-4, Remley 0-3, Ham 0-1, O'Brian 0-1), Grace 5-13 (Tonagel 3-8, Bricker 2-5). Turnovers - Grace 14, IUSB 14. Fouled out -ÊNone. Total fouls - Grace 20, IUSB 21.
