Grace topples Great Lakes Christian in offensive showcase
Article written by Cole Helman
WINONA LAKE, Ind. – Grace’s men’s basketball team picked up a non-league win against Great Lakes Christian at home on Thursday night.
The Lancers cruised to a 118-103 victory led by Logan Godfrey‘s 21 points. Grace took the lead right after the opening tip-off and never looked back.
The game stayed close for the first few minutes until Grace’s offense got into its rhythm. With game tied at nine, the Lancers began to pull away. A 12-2 run, which was capped off by six points from Logan Godfrey, put Grace ahead 21-11.
The Lancers were not done there. Two 3-pointers by Martin Schiele and a layup by Jaret Sons put Grace at a 35-20 advantage. More trays from Schiele, Stephen Halstead and Charlie Warner carried the Lancers to a 46-24 lead with six and a half minutes remaining.
Tim Swanson‘s two buckets as the half was winding down held the momentum for Grace going into halftime. The Lancers went into the locker room with a 20-point lead. Grace shot an electrifying 72 percent from 3-point range in the half. Logan Godfrey led the Lancers in scoring, shooting an efficient 5-6 from the field.
The Lancers opened the second half with a highlight reel worthy alley-oop from Braxton Linville to Godfrey. Great Lakes Christian refused to roll over, as the second 20 minutes of play was a more back and forth affair.
Great Lakes Christian’s aggressive attack got the Lancers in foul trouble early and found themselves in the bonus with 10 minutes to play in the half. The Crusaders finished the contest with 36 free throw attempts converting 30 of them.
Grace received key contributions from its bench play outscoring the crusader reserves 66-29. Matt Jennings led the second unit with 15 points with nine coming in the second half.
With time winding down, Great Lakes Christian crawled its way back to within 12, but Sam Miller slammed the door scoring his first five collegiate points.
The Lancers used their size advantage to gain an edge on the glass. Grace outrebounded the Crusaders 50-20 with 21 second-chance points.
Godfrey finished with 21 points and 7 rebounds. Jennings had a nice all-around performance with 15 points, 8 boards and 6 assists. Haden Deaton added 14 points and tied for a game-high 8 rebounds.
Grace impressed as a team on offense shooting 57 percent from the field and a scorching 63 percent on 19 attempts from beyond the arc.
The Lancers will look to upset #16 ranked arch-rival Bethel on Saturday. The game is the second-half of an afternoon men’s and women’s doubleheader. Tip-off takes place at 3 p.m. in Mishawaka.
