Lancers drop narrow game to unbeaten Vanguard

CHANDLER, Ariz. – A poor shooting performance spoiled a great defensive game by Grace’s men’s basketball team on Monday against Vanguard.
The Lancers, playing at Gilbert-Chandler Community College in Arizona for the Cactus Classic, nearly handed Vanguard its first defeat of the season. But Vanguard held on for a narrow 68-66 victory.
Grace held the Lions (11-0) to their lowest scoring output of the season. The Lancers (9-5) forced Vanguard into their first game under 70, but Grace was unable to overcome its own shooting issues.
The Lancers shot just 40 percent from the floor and made five 3-pointers, tied for the second-fewest this year.
The first half was a physical battle with the sides doing most of their scoring in the paint. The score was tied eight times in the first half alone, and neither team had a lead of more than four points.
Grace was aggressive attacking the basket and was rewarded with 21 free throws before halftime, but the Lancers only converted on 67 percent of their foul shots. Grace missed six free throws over the final six minutes of the half, including a pair of bonus foul shots.
But Grace still led by two 31-29 at halftime thanks to nine points from Logan Godfrey.
Godfrey was even more active offensively in the second half, but Vanguard started to pull away. The Lions scored four quick points after halftime to erase Grace’s lead, and Vanguard led by eight at 50-42 with 10:02 remaining in the game.
Grace did its best to rally, but offense was at a premium for much of the second half. The Lancers’ defense kept the Lions within striking distance, but Grace could not piece together a significant scoring burst until the final minutes.
Grace ripped off 12 points over the final 1:27 of regulation to almost pull off a miraculous comeback. In comparison, Grace had scored just 23 points for the first 18:33 of the second half.
The Lancers trailed by eight with just under 1:30 to play, but Braxton Linville and Haden Deaton hit contested 3-pointers to give Grace a shot. Layups by Charlie Warner and Jaret Sons helped keep pressure on Vanguard.
But the Lions made 8-of-8 from the free throw line over the last two minutes to ice the win, and time expired on Grace’s comeback.
Godfrey was the game’s high scorer, producing 24 points, 14 rebounds and 2 assists. Deaton was next in scoring for Grace by tallying 15 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. No other Lancer reached double figures in points.
Warner had six points and six boards, Eddie Gill IV had seven points and two steals before fouling out, and Linville added six points and three assists.
The Lancers wrap up their Arizona trip on Tuesday with a matchup against Thompson River.