WINONA LAKE – In the words of Grace College men’s basketball coach Jim Kessler, Tre Olive got his chance Saturday and stepped up. He certainly did. In a 73-62 Crossroads League win over the visiting Spring Arbor University Cougars, the 6-foot junior guard from South Bend came off the bench and scored a career-best and game-high 22 points in 29 minutes of work. Olive, who had only scored a total of 37 points while playing in 13 of the Lancers’ first 15 games this season, finished the contest 7 of 9 from the field overall, 5 of 6 from the arc, and 3 of 3 at the free throw line. “Tre, he comes to practice everyday and he works very hard,” said Kessler, whose team improved to 12-4 overall and 2-2 in the league standings, while Spring Arbor fell to 6-10 and 0-4. “He’s probably one of our most under-played players. He got his chance and he stepped up. That’s what players need to do. That’s a great lesson to young players ... you work hard everyday, you get your chance and make the most of it. He got in a rhythm today. Sometimes you gotta let the horse run, and Tre played a heck of game today.” Olive’s offensive outburst, as well as an improved defensive effort that allowed the Cougars to shoot just 27 percent in the second half and score only 24 points after the break, kept the Lancers just one game out of the lead in the league standings. Indiana Wesleyan, the top-ranked NAIA Division II team in the country, No. 4 Marian University and No. 17 University of St. Francis are all 3-1 in Crossroads League action. Seventh-ranked Bethel College, Goshen College, Huntington University, Taylor University and Grace are all tied at 2-2. Mt. Vernon Nazarene is 1-3, while Spring Arbor sits in the cellar of the 10-team league. “That was a nice start for us to get things going,” said Kessler. “The grind of the league is incredibly fatiguing, and that was a pivotal game for us. If we had lost and were 1-3, it’d be a long season, but we’re 2-2 and we’re right in the thick of it. It’s a long league season ... twice a week through the rest of the year. “We’re gonna have to play better defense moving forward, and we’re gonna have to score a little more consistently.” The Lancers trailed by 10 points in the first half but battled back to take a 39-38 advantage into halftime. Grace later led 70-55 before hitting a cold spell in the late stages of the game. Spring Arbor went on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 70-62, but got no closer. The Cougars, who made 15 of 30 shot attempts in the first half, were just 7 of 26 from the floor in the final 20 minutes of the game. Zach Medendorp led Spring Arbor with 15 points, while Isaac Love and Caleb Hogans scored 13 and 11 points, respectively. The Lancers were 11 of 26 from the field in the first half and 11 of 22 in the second half. Led by Olive’s 5-of-6 effort, Grace was 10 of 16 from the arc in the 11-point win. Senior Brandon Vanderhegghen tallied 18 points, seven rebounds and three steals in the win, while classmate Logan Irwin chipped in with 13 points and five assists. Sophomore Erik Bowen tallied 11 points and 13 rebounds for his 11th double-double of the season. With 14 league contests remaining, the Lancers are in action again Tuesday when they travel to Huntington University, followed by a trip to No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan Saturday. “I don’t think we’re gonna look ahead to IWU,” said Kessler. “This team is pretty good about not looking ahead, pretty good about taking care of business. We’re not good enough to look ahead or look past teams. If we don’t take care of business Tuesday, Saturday’s game is immaterial. “Huntington has got some nice pieces. Their record isn’t the greatest, in part because they’ve played a tremendous schedule. We’re gonna have to be ready to play Tuesday.”
GRACE COLLEGE 73, SPRING ARBOR 62 SA 38 24 – 62 GC 39 34 – 73 Spring Arbor – Zach Medendorp 5-8 5-7 15, Thomas Starks 1-6 0-0 2, Caleb Hogans 5-11 0-0 11, Luke Barber 2-5 1-2 7, Greg Hamilton 3-8 2-2 8, Drew Zuidema 0-1 0-0 0, Tommy Hamilton 0-5 0-0 0, Isaac Love 4-4 2-2 13, Peter Barry 2-8 2-2 6. Totals 22-56 12-15 62. Grace – Caleb Featherston 0-2 0-0 0, Kyle Fillman 2-5 2-2 6, Erik Bowen 4-8 3-4 11, Logan Irwin 4-9 3-7 13, Brandon Vanderhegghen 4-10 8-9 18, Josh Ruggles 0-0 0-0 0, Eric Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Tre Olive 7-9 3-3 22, Drew Perrin 0-1 0-3 0, Logan Godfrey 0-0 0-0 0, Chad Hoffer 1-4 0-0 3. Totals 22-48 19-28 73. Three-pointers – Spring Arbor 6 (Love 3, Barber 2, Hogans), Grace 10 (Olive 5, Irwin 2, Vanderhegghen 2, Hoffer); Rebounds – Spring Arbor 25, Grace 32 (Bowen 13); Turnovers – Spring Arbor 9, Grace 12; Fouls – Spring Arbor 21, Grace 15; Fouled out – none; Records: Spring Arbor 6-10 (0-4 CL), Grace 12-4 (2-2 CL)
