WINONA LAKE - Jim Kessler described Saturday's homecoming win over the UC-Clermont Cougars as a tale of two halves. The veteran men's basketball coach's description was as good as his Grace College Lancers were in the second of their 89-64 victory at the Orthopaedic Capital Center. After struggling at times during the first 20 minutes of play, the Lancers, ranked ninth in the NAIA Division II national poll, shot 63 percent from the field and used a 20-2 run to take control of the game and pull away for the 25-point win. Grace improved to 2-0 on the season, while UC-Clermont fell to 0-1. "I didn't yell at halftime," said Kessler, whose team shot just 33 percent from the field in the first half. "I just told them to play with a purpose, and believe in each other." The Lancers did just that. After the Cougars cut the deficit to single digits early in the second half, Grace went on its 20-2 run, a spurt sparked by the play of junior Bruce Grimm Jr. and senior Jacob Peattie. Grimm scored 14 points over the eight-minute stretch, while Peattie added the other six. Grimm scored 18 of his game-high 31 points in the second half, while Peattie scored 10 points in the second half and finished with 23 points and five steals. "Bruce shot the ball well, and he got to the free throw line," Kessler said of Grimm, who was 10 of 18 from the field and 10 of 16 from the charity stripe in the win. "Bruce kind of took over in the second half, and Jacob Peattie had another nice game." Peattie, who scored 21 points in Grace's season opener, scored the game's first six points Saturday, the first four points coming on dunks. The Lancers raced out to a 10-0 lead, and it looked as if Grace was going to deliver the knockout punch early. That wasn't the case at all, as UC-Clermont responded with a 16-3 run of its own to take a three-point lead with 10:23 remaining in the first half. "We struggled with execution in the first half," said Kessler. "It was sloppy. We couldn't get in any rhythm. In the second half, we played a lot better." By a lot better, Kessler means his team went from making just 9 of 27 shots in the first half to hitting 17 of 27 attempts in the second half. The Lancers led 42-31 at halftime, but a basket by Peattie with 8:04 remaining pushed Grace's advantage to 75-45. To go with the production it got from Grimm and Peattie, Grace got 12 points and six rebounds from senior Duke Johnson, seven points and four rebounds from senior Dayton Merrell and six points, four rebounds and four steals from junior sparkplug Lee Ross. Sophomore Dennis Williams came off the bench and led the Lancers in rebounds with 11. By Kessler's own rule, Williams will start against Missouri Valley at 8 p.m. Friday during Grace's KCCCF Hoops For Hope Tournament at the OCC. UC-Clermont finished Saturday's game 22 of 69 from the field and was outrebounded 47-31. Willie Slusher and Joel Leitner led the Cougars in scoring with 11 points each, while Clint Boring scored 10 points, Devin Bartlett added nine points and Davyne Davis chipped in with eight points.
GRACE 89, UC-CLERMONT 64 UCC 31 33 – 64 GC 42 47 – 89 UC-Clermont – Devin Barlett 3-6 3-4 9, Joel Leitner 4-10 0-0 11, Davyne Davis 3-13 1-1 8, Scott Dieble 0-1 0-0 0, Clint Boring 4-7 2-4 10, Chris Hayes 0-3 2-2 2, Demetrius Summerlin 0-3 0-0 0, Steven Collins 1-9 4-8 6, Willie Slusher 4-6 1-2 11, Darwin Tolliver 1-2 0-1 2, Dylan Phillips 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 22-69 14-24 64. Grace – Dayton Merrell 3-5 0-0 7, Greg Miller 0-4 1-2 1, Duke Johnson 2-5 8-10 12, Jacob Peattie 7-10 9-12 23, Bruce Grimm Jr. 10-18 10-16 31, Lee Ross 1-3 4-4 6, Morgan Michalski 0-0 0-0 0, Jacob Goodman 0-0 0-0 0, Benjamin Euler 1-4 2-2 4, Tannan Peters 1-1 1-2 3, Dennis Williams 1-4 0-2 2. Three-point goals – UCC 6 (Leitner 3, Slusher 2, Davis), Grace 2 (Merrell, Grimm); Rebounds – UCC 31 (Collins 9), Grace 47 (Williams 11); Turnovers – UCC 18, Grace 21; Records: UCC 0-1, Grace 2-0.
