BACK TO KC: Lancers win Winona Lake bracket, advance to NAIA final site
WINONA LAKE, Ind. – The March pilgrimage from Winona Lake to Kansas City is becoming an annual tradition for Grace’s men’s basketball team.
The Lancers took down Pikeville in the NAIA Second Round on Saturday night, 75-67. Grace won the Winona Lake bracket and will advance to Kansas City for the remaining games of the 2025 NAIA National Championships.
Grace is making its fourth straight trip to Kansas City. The No. 2 seeded Lancers (28-5) will play No. 11 St. Mary-of-the-Woods in the Round of 16 on either Thursday or Friday.
Grace extended its winning streak to eight games thanks to Saturday’s sterling performance against the seventh-seeded Bears.
The Lancers enjoyed a season-low four turnovers and dominated the interior, outscoring the Bears by 22 in the paint.
Pikeville got off to a fast start, quickly opening up an 8-2 lead as Grace’s offense sputtered.
But Grace dialed up its defense, keeping the Bears scoreless for nearly five minutes.
Grace tied the score thanks to a steady diet of Ian Scott and Ian Raasch in the lane.
A trio of 3-pointers helped reignite Pikeville’s offense, and the Bears claimed a 23-15 lead with 6:23 remaining in the first half.
But Grace caught fire from deep to end the half as well. Carter Stoltzfus and Hunter Walston canned triples to help erase the deficit, and a late triple from Justin DeGraaf gave Grace the lead.
The Lancers held a slight 32-31 edge as the game reached halftime.
The Lancers shot 45 percent from the floor while holding Pikeville to 40 percent. The Lancers, who rank No. 10 in free throw attempts this year, were held to one free throw in the opening half.
Scott and Raasch each tallied eight points in the opening half to lead Grace’s attack.
Gage Sefton helped Grace begin the second half well, scoring on Grace’s first two possessions after halftime.
The Bears rattled off five quick points, and the game was gridlocked for the next few minutes.
Pikeville tied the score at 42-42 with 13:28 on the clock, but Grace then employed a suffocating stretch of defense to change the course of the game.
The Bears were held scoreless for nearly four minutes, missing five shots and turning the ball over twice.
The Lancers capitalized, ripping off eight unanswered points to go ahead 50-42 with 9:55 to play. A pair of dunks from Scott continued Grace’s momentum.
Hunter Walston provided a timely spark off the bench to build the Lancers’ cushion. He scored seven points in 1:30 to push Grace’s lead to 13.
Pikeville had one more charge in reserve, battling back to within 59-53 with four minutes on the clock.
But Grace calmly finished the game by taking care of the ball and converting layups and free throws.
The Lancers hit seven foul shots over the last 3:10 to ice the eight-point win.
Grace shot 48 percent for the game, while Pikeville was held to 41 percent.
In the interior, Grace had a major advantage. The Lancers outscored Pikeville 46-24 in the paint and grabbed seven more rebounds.
Scott finished the game with 18 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocked shots, and Raasch collected 18 points, 7 boards and 3 assists. Raasch was also fouled seven times.
Walston poured in 12 points with six rebounds, and DeGraaf tallied nine points and two assists.
Sefton tallied six points and two assists, Stoltzfus had five points and four assists, and Brett Sickafoose added five points and four boards.
Grace is one of just two teams (Idaho) to make the NAIA’s final site in each of the last four years.