WINONA LAKE – Grace College’s 17th-ranked men’s basketball team saw a four-game winning streak end Tuesday when Spring Arbor upset the Lancers 74-60. A career-high 21 points from Karl Columbus wasn’t enough to propel the Lancers past the Cougars in Crossroads League action. Grace’s offense sputtered out of the gate as the Lancers fell behind 9-2 after four minutes of action. After Grace head coach Jim Kessler called a timeout, the Lancers (17-7; 9-4 CL) rallied behind six points from Greg Miller to take a 13-12 lead three minutes later. The score stayed close the rest of the first half, but Spring Arbor went into the break with a 35-30 advantage thanks to shooting 63 percent from the field in the opening half. Grace, on the other hand, struggled from the field and shot 38 percent. The Cougars (16-9; 6-7 CL) maintained their advantage throughout the second half, eventually building up a double-digit lead with 9:01 to play. Grace’s shooting woes continued after halftime as they failed to make a significant charge at Spring Arbor’s lead for the remainder of the contest. The Lancers, who shot under 40 percent for the game, made just 1 of 7 attempts from beyond the arc after halftime and 3 of 17 for the game (18 percent). Spring Arbor sealed the upset by making eight free throws over the final 3:32. Columbus was the strongest offensive force for Grace. After setting a career high with 17 points Saturday against Huntington, Columbus bettered that mark Tuesday with a game-high 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting. He led all players with eight rebounds and nabbed three steals as well. Bruce Grimm Jr. finished with 10 points, four assists and four rebounds. Miller, who was named the NAIA Player of the Week earlier Tuesday afternoon, added nine points and seven rebounds. Spring Arbor made 53 percent of its field goals for the game, including 4 of 5 from the three-point line and 16 of 19 from the charity stripe. Chris Bellamy led the Cougars with 20 points, while Rob Hogans chipped in with 18. Matt Howe and Matt Carden also scored in double figures for Spring Arbor, finishing with 12 and 10 points, respectively. The Lancers will hope to start a new winning streak Saturday when they travel to Goshen College for a 3 p.m. tipoff.
