No. 1 Grace powers past USF
WINONA LAKE, Ind. – The No. 1-ranked Grace men’s basketball team overcame a poor shooting night to dispatch St. Francis 85-64 on Wednesday.
The Lancers (17-0, 7-0 Crossroads League) had their worst shooting performance of the season, shooting 38 percent from the floor.
But Grace made up for that with a season-high 23 offensive rebounds and a season-low eight turnovers.
Elijah Malone led the individual stat line with 20 points, 15 rebounds, 5 blocks, 2 steals and 2 assists in 24 minutes.
The Cougars (10-8, 3-5 CL) scored the first bucket of the game, but USF’s lead lasted 39 seconds.
Grace scored the next 13 points, led by four points apiece from Malone and Jake Wadding.
The Lancers’ onslaught continued after a Cougar bucket. Cade Gibbs and Jakob Gibbs stole the ball and scored on back-to-back plays.
On the next play, Cade Gibbs converted an and-1 to push Grace’s cushion to 23-4.
The lead swelled to 39-19 with 7:46 remaining, but the Cougars rallied to within 10 later in the half.
Grace still strolled into halftime with a 46-34 lead. Grace shot just 39 percent from the floor and 22 percent on 3s. But USF was forced into 14 turnovers thanks to nine steals by the Lancers.
Jakob Gibbs racked up 10 points, 3 assists and 3 steals, and Malone had 13 points and eight boards.
Grace’s offense sputtered out of the locker room in the second half; the Lancers missed nine of their first 10 field goals.
But Grace’s defense kept USF from making a run. The Cougars only trimmed Grace’s lead by three points during the opening stretch.
The Lancers ended their shooting woes with eight points over a two-minute stretch, highlighted by a triple from Brett Sickafoose.
The lead for Grace was never fewer than 14 points for the rest of the contest as the Lancers eased away for the 21-point win.
Jakob Gibbs finished with 18 points, 4 steals and 3 assists, and Ian Scott tacked on 13 points, 8 boards, 4 assists and 3 blocks.
Sickafoose scored 11 points off the bench, and Gage Sefton added seven points with four boards.
Carter Stoltzfus grabbed eight rebounds, Brycen Graber passed out five assists, and Cade Gibbs finished with five points and three steals.
Grace finished the game with a commanding 54-36 rebounding advantage thanks to the team’s 23 offensive rebounds.
The Lancers are on the road for the next two games, starting at Mt. Vernon Nazarene on Saturday.