Lancers shock No. 22 SAU on the road
SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – Grace’s men’s basketball team picked up one of its biggest road victories of the season with an 84-78 upset of No. 22 Spring Arbor on Saturday.
The Lancers (11-17, 4-12 Crossroads League) used sharp shooting and muscle inside to down the Cougars (19-9, 7-9 CL). Haden Deaton scored a career-high 19 points to lead Grace, drilling five 3-pointers in the process.
Grace edged out SAU by three points in each half. The Lancers held a steady lead throughout the opening half, although the Cougars refused to get blown out.
Eight straight points early in the first half gave Grace a cushion, and the Lancers slowly extended their lead.
Deaton buried a triple with four minutes left in the half to give Grace its largest lead at 32-21. But the Cougars roared back with 10 points over the final 3:14 and trailed 34-31 at halftime.
Grace made 50 percent of its shots in the first half and also had a plus-10 advantage in rebounds.
SAU came out firing after halftime. The Cougars erupted with an 11-0 run to regain the lead and still were on top 54-48 with 11:50 to play.
A pair of 3-pointers courtesy of Charlie Warner and Jaret Sons swung momentum back to the Lancers to tie the game. Three minutes later, Logan Godfrey and Matt Jennings spearheaded a 10-0 run. Jennings hit two free throws at the end of that run, giving Grace an eight-point lead with 4:04 to play in the contest.
The Cougars put forth a valiant comeback and quickly trimmed Grace’s gap down to two points. Deaton responded with one of the biggest shots of the afternoon, hitting a corner 3-pointer with 1:18 left. Soon after, Sons scored in the paint to effectively seal the win.
Grace made sure of the victory from the foul line, making five free throws in the last 39 seconds.
Deaton only needed nine shots for his 19 points. He made 7-of-9, including 5-of-7 from beyond the arc to go along with six boards.
Godfrey added 14 points and five rebounds, and Jennings tallied 13 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals.
Sons produced 10 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks, Warner chipped in nine points and four assists, and Braxton Linville added 7 points, 5 assists and 5 boards.
For the game, Grace made 53 percent of its field goals compared to 44 percent for SAU. Grace also hit nine 3-pointers, while the Cougars struggled to shoot 4-of-16 (25 percent) from beyond the arc.
The Lancers wrap up the regular season next week, playing at No. 3 St. Francis on Wednesday and hosting Taylor on Saturday at 3 p.m.