WINONA LAKE, Ind. – In the NAIA Game of the Week, Bethel's offense proved to be too lethal as they won 98-88 over Grace in a shootout at the Orthopaedic Capital Center on Thursday night.

No. 12 Grace eclipsed their season average for points in the NAIA Top 25 showdown, but they failed to keep pace with No. 21 Bethel.

Grace opened the game on a strong note, scoring the first seven points after tip-off. The Lancers (13-5; 5-2 Crossroads League) continued their positive play and claimed their largest advantage of the game at 28-18.

Greg Miller was a dominant force in the opening portions of the contest with 11 points in less than seven minutes. The game shifted, however, when Miller picked up his second foul with 10:28 remaining in the half.

Bethel used Miller's absence to go on a 16-1 run as the Lancers' offense went cold. Overall Grace went 7:34 between field goals which allowed Bethel to grab a five-point lead.

Bruce Grimm Jr. did his best to keep Grace close as he notched the team's final six points of the half. Regardless, the Pilots (16-3; 7-0 CL) entered halftime ahead 46-43 behind the strength of 63.3-percent shooting in the first half.

The Pilots scored 13 of the first 14 points of the second half to earn a commanding 59-44 lead. Overall Bethel went on a 19-1 run, spanning from the final two minutes of the first half into the first three minutes of the second half.

Bethel's last point of their back-breaking run was a four-point play from Zach Miller.

Grace looked to regain its composure by trimming Bethel's lead down to nine a few minutes later, but Bethel quickly sped away to claim a 17-point cushion.

The Lancers made a valiant attempt to come back over the final three minutes of play, but it proved to be too little, too late.

On two occasions, Grace managed to cut their deficit to eight points thanks to the 3-point shooting of Miller and Elliot Smith.

But Bethel clinched the game at the free throw line en route to their 10-point victory. The Pilots made 14 free throws over the final 4:14. Overall Bethel held a 37-22 advantage in free throw attempts.

Miller led all scorers with 28 points and eight rebounds. He made 10-of-18 from the field to go along with a trio of 3-pointers.

Grimm had a well-rounded game with 23 points, 5 assists and 3 steals.

Jordan Bowerman (24 points) and Ryan Benner (20 points) paced Bethel offensively. The Pilots claimed a 39-32 advantage in rebounding.

The Lancers handled the ball well with a season-low six turnovers. But despite taking 15 more field goal attempts than Bethel, Grace made 43 percent for the game compared to a sizzling 59 percent for the Pilots.

Grace will continue league play on Saturday with a road match at Saint Francis at 3 p.m.