Lancers blitz Marian in league opener
WINONA LAKE, Ind. – The Crossroads League season could not have started any better for Grace’s men’s basketball team on Wednesday.
The Lancers routed Marian 98-62 at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.
Grace’s defense held Marian to 21 points below their season average; the Knights shot just 36 percent from the floor compared to Grace’s 57 percent.
Ian Raasch scored a game-high 20 points with four rebounds and two steals, and 10 players scored for Grace overall.
To start Wednesday’s game, Gage Sefton helped Grace find its offense with four quick points.
Brett Sickafoose then canned a pair of 3-pointers in two minutes, forcing Marian to burn an early timeout.
Seven minutes into the game, Grace ripped off nine straight points to open up a 21-11 lead. Carter Stoltzfus hit a triple during the spurt.
A few minutes later, Grace scored another nine unanswered points to push the lead to 33-17. Threes from Brycen Graber and Justin DeGraaf keyed the run.
The Lancers charged into halftime with a resounding 45-26 lead. Grace shot 55 percent from the floor while holding Marian to 30 percent, including 2 of 12 from the 3-point line.
Grace grabbed an even firmer grip on the game to kick off the second half.
The Lancers erupted with a 20-2 run to stun the Knights. Back-to-back layups from Raasch capped off the run, and Grace found itself firmly ahead by 37 (69-32) with 12:53 remaining.
Grace pushed its lead to 39 a minute later after a triple by DeGraaf.
The Lancers kept their lead over 30 for the final 14:41, and Grace removed its starting lineup for the last several minutes.
Marcus Davidson provided an offensive eruption off the bench, canning a trio of 3s over the last five minutes.
Grace outrebounded Marian by 16. The Lancers also canned a season-high 14 triples, connecting on 42 percent of their attempts from beyond the arc.
Ian Scott tallied a double-double of 14 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists, and Graber had 12 points, 5 assists and 4 boards.
Hunter Walston notched 10 points with five boards, DeGraaf hit three 3-pointers for nine points, and Sefton ended with 8 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds.
Stoltzfus amassed 5 points, 4 assists and 4 boards, Davidson had nine points, and Cannon Houser scored five.
The Lancers end the week on the road on Saturday, playing at No. 3 Indiana Wesleyan at 3 p.m.