Grace sets record with 14-0 start to season
WINONA LAKE, Ind. – In the illustrious history of Grace’s men’s basketball team, the Lancers have never won their first 14 games.
Until Wednesday night, that is.
The No. 1-ranked Lancers improved to 14-0 with a dominant 104-76 win over Taylor. Grace cemented its best start to a season, beating last year’s squad and the 1991-92 season who each started the year 13-0.
Grace sits alone atop the Crossroads League season with a 14-0 record and are the lone 4-0 team in the league standings.
The Lancers overwhelmed the Trojans (5-9, 0-4 CL) with the team’s intensity on the defensive end and an unending assault at the rim on offense.
The game was played evenly for the first nine minutes of action with Grace holding a slight 16-15 edge.
Grace’s second unit began to turn the tide with an array of shotmaking and defensive pressure.
The Lancers rattled off 11 straight points in a two-minute span to open up a 12-point cushion. Grace never lost its double-digit lead for the rest of the contest.
Brycen Graber was a one-man wrecking crew in the first half. He began the game by making back-to-back 3-pointers, doing so while battling an injury which left his mouth bleeding.
Graber continued his remarkable shooting, rattling off several 3s and a dazzling, driving layup in transition while being fouled.
Graber amassed 20 points in the first half – a career-high for a game. He made all five of his 3-pointers, adding 3 assists, 3 steals and 0 turnovers.
Grace ended the half with another charge. The Lancers used a 17-4 run to further boost the home team. Graber and Gage Sefton took turns hitting 3-pointers, hitting triples on four straight possessions.
The Lancers shot a sizzling 67 percent from the floor and ran away to a 54-29 lead at halftime.
The Trojans struggled to generate offense against Grace’s relentless defense. Taylor shot 44 percent from the floor and committed 13 turnovers.
Graber (20 points) and Sefton (14 points) highlighted Grace’s offense in the half. Jake Wadding also scored eight points in the first seven minutes of the game, capped off by a driving dunk in traffic.
It took Grace just three minutes of action in the second half to expand its lead to 30. Elijah Malone was a force to begin the half. He scored an and-1, made a 3-pointer and threw down a dunk in the span of 138 seconds.
Overall, he scored 15 points in the first seven minutes of the second half before being subbed out for the rest of the game.
Grace’s lead hovered around 30 until the final buzzer, despite the Lancers emptying their bench. Eleven players scored in the game for Grace.
Graber finished with a career-high 24 points, 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 rebounds in 22 minutes. Sefton also scored a career-best 22 points with a trio of 3-pointers, adding five rebounds.
Malone had 16 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks in 17 minutes, and Wadding had 11 points, 4 assists and 2 blocks.
Ian Scott racked up 8 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks, Carter Stoltzfus had four points and three rebounds, Jakob Gibbs tacked on 6 points, 3 assists and 3 rebounds, and Cade Gibbs had 5 points, 4 boards and 1 blocked shot.
Grace has now won 27 of its past 28 games under head coach Scott Moore.
The Lancers will hit the road on Saturday for a 3 p.m. game at Goshen. Grace returns home on Jan. 10 for a matchup with Huntington, a rematch of last year’s Crossroads League Tournament championship.