MARION, Ind. – Grace’s men’s basketball team passed one of its toughest tests to date, downing No. 10 Indiana Wesleyan on the road on Saturday.
The Lancers held their spot atop the Crossroads League and maintained their perfect start to the season (17-0, 7-0 CL).
Grace will have another top-10 battle for its next game on Wednesday, this time at home. Grace will battle rival No. 7 Bethel on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., after the conclusion of the women’s Grace/Bethel matchup.
Saturday’s game was hard-fought from start to finish. Grace led for more than 35 of the 40 minutes, but the Lancers had to fend off numerous runs by the home team.
The teams opened up the game evenly, exchanging small leads. Grace immediately showcased its depth, using six players to score the team’s first 11 points.
Gage Sefton helped the Lancers at the onset, hitting a pair of early 3-pointers.
IWU benefited from five Grace turnovers in the opening eight minutes, but the Wildcats were unable to turn those miscues into a lead.
At the midway mark of the first half, Grace led 20-16.
The Lancers extended their lead to seven thanks to a 3-pointer from Cannen Houser.
With five minutes left in the half, Ian Raasch converted an and-1 to hand the Lancers a 10-point cushion (31-21).
IWU countered with eight straight points, quickly chopping Grace’s advantage down to two. The Lancers ended the run with two straight buckets from Betten.
Grace went into halftime with a slight 39-36 advantage thanks to a last-second putback layup from Raasch.
The Lancers shot 56 percent from the floor, overcoming a 3 of 11 performance from downtown (27 percent). The Wildcats were held to 41 percent shooting but made 42 percent on 3s.
Betten’s eight points led Grace at the break, and Raasch and Sefton tallied seven points apiece.
Sefton had another hot start to the second half; Sefton attacked the rim on Grace’s first three possessions, converting a layup each time.
Raasch made layup on the Lancers’ next play, and Grady Carpenter hit two free throws as Grace ran ahead ahead by 14 (50-36).
The Wildcats had no answer early on against Grace’s defense; IWU came up empty on its first five possessions.
IWU finally sparked to life with five points in a row, but Grace’s offense continued to purr along.
The Lancers scored quickly, using unselfish passing to break down the Wildcats’ defense.
The Wildcats made a flurry of 3-pointers to find a jolt. IWU came all the way back to within two at 67-65 before Betten scored in the post.
Houser hit a timely triple to help the Lancers. Raasch converted a 3-point play with 4:33 remaining to extend Grace’s lead to six.
The teams traded hoops over the next few minutes before Grace surged ahead for good.
Carpenter scored two straight layups, and Tyler Raasch made two putback layups in a row to put the game out of reach.
The win extends the Lancers’ winning streak to eight straight over the Wildcats.
Statistically, Grace had major edges in field goal percentage (55 percent vs 46 percent) and points in the paint (58 to 34).
Sefton amassed 17 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists while shooting 7 of 11 from the floor, and Ian Raasch tallied 16 points, 9 boards and 2 assists. Raasch eclipsed 1,000 points for his career, becoming the 60th player in program history to reach that mark.
Betten scored 14 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals, and Wellman amassed 12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 assists and 1 block.
Hunter Walston scored eight and nabbed two steals, Houser had nine points and three assists, Tyler Raasch produced 10 points (5 of 7 shooting), 7 boards and 1 blocked shot, and Carpenter added six points with three assists.
Grace’s nine turnovers in the game were the team’s third-fewest this season. The Lancers shot 55 percent as a floor despite making only 28 percent on 3-point tries. The Wildcats shot 46 percent and made 42 percent of their 3-pointers (10 triples).