RICHMOND – Senior All-American candidate Greg Miller had a game for the ages Tuesday night, powering Grace College’s men’s basketball team with 43 points and 21 rebounds. The 16th-ranked Lancers (4-0) continued their torrid offensive pace, and behind Miller’s performance came away with a 107-94 victory on the road over IU-East. “He’s just consistent and he performs,” 37th-year Grace head coach Jim Kessler said of Miller. “He just does what he needs to do. He didn’t do anything that would make people go ‘Wow.’ He just went out, got rebounds and put it in the basket. It was a quiet 43. He just went about his business. I couldn’t be more proud of him.” According to Grace College’s website, the school record for points in one game is held by Mike McCoy, who scored 53 against Trinity Christian in 1969. The school record for rebounds in one game is held by Gary Grove, who grabbed 33 boards against Trinity Christian in 1957. Miller’s superlative effort included 15-of-21 shooting from the floor and a 12-of-14 effort from the free throw line. His rebounding performance of 21 boards was the highest total an NAIA Division II player has reached this season. He notched a double-double in the second half alone with 25 points and 13 rebounds. In four games, the Lancers’ lowest point total is 91, which they scored last week in a 24-point win over Akron-Wayne. Averaging 102 points per game, the Lancers are second in the nation among NAIA Division II teams in scoring. “We’ve never set out to do that,” Kessler said of his team’s scoring pace so far this season. “The teams we’ve played have been uptempo. We’ve gotten good looks and been able to score. We like to get out and run. I told the guys to take what they give you.” Grace opened Tueday’s game on a 14-6 run, capped off when Brock McFarland finished a fast-break opportunity. IU-East responded, however, with a 24-8 spurt to reclaim an eight-point lead midway through the opening half. A free throw from Miller with 11 seconds to play in the half, though, lifted the Lancers to a 43-42 advantage at halftime in the back-and-forth battle. Within the first seven minutes of the second half, Grace held a 10-point lead thanks to 3-pointers from Logan Irwin and Niko Read on back-to-back possessions. The Red Wolves trimmed Grace’s lead to eight points at 82-74 with 5:46 to play, but IU-East got no closer the rest of the way. Read drained six 3-pointers for the Lancers en route to 24 points, and Irwin finished with 14 points, eight assists and just one turnover. McFarland chipped in 10 points and five rebounds, and Brandon Vanderhegghen added eight points and five boards. As a team, Grace made 53 percent of its shot attempts and held a plus-10 advantage in rebounding. The Lancers outscored the Red Wolves 56-38 in the paint and also had 12 fast-break points. The Lancers will continue action this weekend as they host the annual Bennigan’s/Optimist Terry Polston Hoops for Hope Tournament. The Lancers will host Holy Cross Friday at 8 p.m. University of Cumberlands and Missouri Baptist will also play Friday. The consolation game is set for noon Saturday, while the championship game is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.
