WINONA LAKE – Senior marksman Elliot Smith joined Grace’s 1,000-point club in the perfect fashion – from beyond the arc. Smith’s first-half triple from the left wing made him the 44th Lancer to reach 1,000 career points as Grace pulled away for an 84-69 win over Wilberforce Friday night in the Habitat for Humanity Classic at the Orthopaedic Capital Center. The Lancers (6-2) led by as many as 35 points in the second half before coasting to their final 15-point margin of victory. Grace scored the first seven points of the game as it held the Bulldogs (4-8) scoreless for nearly four minutes after the tip. Wilberforce battled back to within 22-18 before a 13-2 run by Grace broke the game open. Smith, who entered Friday’s contest with 995 points, drilled a three-pointer with 4:50 remaining in the first half and then eclipsed the 1,000-point mark with another trey less than two minutes later. Smith has made a remarkable 48 percent of his three-point attempts this year (24 of 50). Shortly into the second half, the Lancers put the game out of reach with 16 unanswered points over a four-minute span. Grace hit four three-pointers during its run as Caleb Featherston, Greg Miller, Smith and Brandon Vanderhegghen each buried a triple. Grace pulled its starters midway into the second half, which allowed Wilberforce to whittle down Grace’s lead, but their effort was too little, too late. Miller led Grace in scoring with 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting, including a 4-of-5 performance from beyond the arc. Bruce Grimm Jr., the Crossroads League’s leader in assists, narrowly missed a double-double with 16 points and nine assists, and Smith made three treys for nine points. Vanderhegghen, Kyle Fillman and Adrian Makolli each added six points off the bench. Overall, Grace made 49 percent of its field goals as it tallied an assist on 24 of 32 made buckets. The Lancers will conclude the Habitat for Humanity Classic on Saturday against Trinity Christian at 3 p.m.
