Deaton’s big day powers Grace
GOSHEN, Ind. – A career night from Haden Deaton lifted Grace’s men’s basketball team to an 83-74 victory at Goshen on Wednesday.
Deaton ripped off a career-best 33 points and nine rebounds, scoring 21 points in the second half to power Grace’s road win.
The first half was tightly contested as neither side was able to gain a significant edge. The lead changed hands 10 times in the first half alone.
The Maple Leafs (1-10, 0-4 Crossroads League) scored eight straight points midway into the half to open up a 28-21 lead.
Three minutes later, Grace echoed Goshen’s spurt with another 8-0 run thanks to four points from Logan Godfrey.
Goshen scored in the final seconds of the half, claiming a slight 39-38 lead as the teams entered their halftime locker rooms.
Both sides shot at least 50 percent from the floor, but the Lancers (9-3, 1-3 CL) made just 7-of-16 (44 percent) from the free throw stripe.
In the second half, Goshen reasserted another seven-point advantage in the opening minutes. But Deaton scored seven straight points for Grace to eat away at Goshen’s lead.
With six minutes to play, Grace faced a one-point deficit. But Deaton stepped up again with a pair of big shots, burying a 3-pointer on back-to-back plays to hand momentum back to Grace.
After a steal from Braxton Linville, Grace set up a backdoor play. Linville made a pass to Deaton, and Deaton rose up for a two-handed dunk for his eighth straight point.
Deaton’s dunk put the Lancers on top by five, and Logan Godfrey followed that up with two free throws for a 75-68 lead with 3:21 remaining.
Defensively, Grace made enough stops over the final minutes to withstand a potential comeback. Linville and Charlie Warner connected on six free throws over the last minute to ice the victory.
Deaton’s 33 points came after hitting all three of his 3-pointers. Godfrey just missed a double-double with 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting, adding nine rebounds in 24 minutes before fouling out.
Warner tallied 14 points with seven rebounds, Linville amassed 8 points, 7 assists, 7 rebounds and 3 steals, and Eddie Gill IV chipped in five points and three rebounds.
As a team Grace had nine assists on 18 turnovers, but the Lancers outrebounded Goshen 43-24. Grace also got to the free throw line 39 times compared to 18 foul shots for the Maple Leafs.
The Lancers remain on the road Saturday, playing at Huntington at 3 p.m.
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