Lancers grab 20th win of season
WINONA LAKE, Ind. – Grace’s men’s basketball racked up its 20th win of the regular season on Wednesday, blowing by Goshen 79-59.
The Lancers (20-7, 9-6 Crossroads League) poured in 46 points in the paint, flexing its interior muscles against the Maple Leafs (7-20, 3-12 CL).
The teams played evenly for the first four minutes of action. But Grace soon took control with nine straight points, seven coming from Elijah Malone.
The Maple Leafs managed to battle within five before Grace made another surge.
Over a two-minute span, the Lancers poured in nine quick points which all came from Malone and Frankie Davidson. Grace opened up a 12-point lead with 4:36 left in the half.
Over the final 3:33 of the half, the Lancers outscored the Maple Leafs 11-2. Jakob Gibbs scored the final five points for Grace in the final minute, and the Lancers charged into halftime ahead 43-27.
Malone (13 points), Jake Wadding (10 points) and Davidson (9 points) accounted for 32 first-half points. Grace shot 56 percent from the floor compared to Goshen’s 44 percent.
Grace had a dominant advantage on the boards as well, outrebounding Goshen 23-6. The Lancers had more offensive boards (seven) than total rebounds by Goshen in the half.
It did not take Grace long to build on its lead; before three minutes had expired, Davidson swished a 3-pointer to hand the Lancers a 21-point cushion.
Goshen did its best to recover, pulling to within 59-44 with eight minutes remaining. But the Lancers refused to let Goshen come closer.
The game was polished off with a barrage of triples. Davidson, Gibbs and Brett Sickafoose each hit a 3-pointer during a span of 1:40, propelling Grace ahead by 27.
Grace emptied its bench and rolled to the final 79-59 scoreline.
Malone had a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Davidson amassed 17 points, 7 assists, 7 rebounds and 0 turnovers. Davidson shot 3 of 4 on 3-pointers.
Wadding tallied 15 points, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 boards, and Gibbs had eight points. Cade Gibbs finished with five points and six rebounds, Brycen Graber passed out six assists, and Ian Scott had four points and eight boards.
Grace shot 53 percent as a team from the floor compared to 41 percent for Goshen. The Maple Leafs made just 2 of 14 (14 percent) on 3-pointers compared to Grace’s 8 of 19 (42 percent).
Grace dished out 23 assists on 32 made field goals, but the Lancers also had 21 turnovers.
Grace will travel to Taylor on Saturday for a 3 p.m. meeting. Grace has just three games left In the regular season and currently sits in fourth place in the league standings.
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