OT THRILLER: Lancers top IWU to reach tournament finals
WINONA LAKE, Ind. – With a minute left in the first half, Grace’s men’s basketball team faced a 14-point deficit against Indiana Wesleyan.
But a thrilling second-half comeback in the Crossroads League Tournament semifinals led the Lancers to an 89-82 overtime win.
The win sends Grace (25-5) to the tournament championship game on Monday night; Grace will host Huntington on Monday at 7 p.m. in a rematch of the 2023 championship game.
It is the Lancers’ fourth straight trip to the tournament finals; Grace is hoping to defend its three-peat crown.
The first half was a battle in the paint. Nearly half of the combined points occurred in the lane.
Ian Raasch had a steal and dunk in the opening few minutes, but it was the Wildcats who opened up an early 7-4 lead.
IWU seized a 16-10 lead as Grace’s offense struggled to find a rhythm. The deficit grew to 23-13 at the midway mark of the first half.
Grace found a spark, using layups from Carter Stoltzfus and Justin DeGraaf as well as a triple from Brycen Graber, slashing IWU’s lead to four.
But the Lancers again went stagnant to end the half. The Wildcats took advantage to open up a 14-point lead with just over a minute remaining.
But two late scores from Raasch and Ian Scott helped bring Grace to within 42-32 at halftime; Raasch’s banked shot went in just before halftime.
IWU was ultra efficient on offense, shooting 52 percent from the floor, 50 percent on 3s and committing only two turnovers. Grace, on the other hand, had six turnovers and shot 2 of 9 on 3-pointers.
Grace began to find its offensive footing as the second half kicked off. The Lancers found success attacking the paint.
Raasch converted an early and-1, and Grace used a furious 7-0 run to pull within two. DeGraaf capped off the run with an and-1, sending the crowd into a frenzied state.
IWU called two timeouts over the first seven minutes of the second half, hoping to slow down the Lancers. But Grace had found its confidence.
Shortly afterward, a 3-pointer from Hunter Walston and a basket from DeGraaf gave Grace the lead at 53-52.
The teams could not be separated over the final 13 minutes.
Grace tried to pull away when DeGraaf hit a triple with 5:14 remaining, giving Grace a 64-60 lead. But the Wildcats clawed back with four straight points to level the score.
The Wildcats twice took a two-point lead in the final minute, but each time Grace tied the game thanks to Scott.
The first time, Scott tied the game 71-71 with a thunderous dunk. The second time, Scott sank two free throws with 28 seconds remaining to level the game at 73-73.
The Wildcats had a chance to win the game at the buzzer, but strong defense from Stoltzfus and Raasch forced a miss, and the game went to overtime.
Scott scored the final nine points of regulation for the Lancers.
Grace began the overtime period with confidence. Stoltzfus drilled a triple on the first possession, and Scott followed that up with two straight dunks.
Grace forced two missed shots in a row down the stretch, forcing the Wildcats to begin fouling to extend the game. The teams exchanged fouling strategies over the final 30 seconds, and Grace sank 7 of 8 from the foul line to ice the win.
The Lancers finished the game shooting 56 percent from the floor, overcoming a 24-percent shooting performance on 3s. Grace did value the ball with 24 assists and 11 turnovers.
Scott poured in 19 points, 10 rebounds, 5 blocks and 4 assists, shooting 7 of 10 from the floor.
DeGraaf scored 14 points in 16 minutes off the bench, and Stoltzfus tallied 8 points, 9 assists and 0 turnovers.
Raasch did not miss a shot (7 of 7), producing 16 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.
Brett Sickafoose notched 9 points, 6 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals, Gage Sefton added 12 points, and Walston collected 8 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.
The Lancers had major advantages in paint points (50-32), fastbreak points (26-9) and bench points (30-5).