SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – A second-half surge lifted Grace's men's basketball team to a come-from-behind 56-53 victory at Spring Arbor on Tuesday.
The Lancers (13-4, 3-2 Crossroads League) trailed by as many as 12 points in the game, but Grace outscored Spring Arbor 36-26 in the second half to rally for the win.
Grace started Tuesday's game on the right foot, scoring the first six points. But the Cougars (10-7, 1-4 CL) clawed back on top with a 13-1 run. After taking the lead with 13:35 remaining in the first half, Spring Arbor did not trail again until the final two minutes.
Spring Arbor opened up its largest lead of the game at 25-13 late in the half, but Grace managed to cut the Cougars' advantage to seven at the halftime break.
The Lancers struggled mightily with their shooting touch, making just 5-of-20 (25 percent) in the first half. Grace was 1-of-8 from the 3-point line and had eight first-half turnovers.
Similar to the first half, the Cougars started slowly in the second period. Spring Arbor scored one point over the first 4:40 of the half, and Grace rallied to tie the game at 28-28.
Spring Arbor climbed back on top and led 47-39 with 9:00 remaining. Brandon Vanderhegghen played a crucial role in Grace's second-half comeback. He ripped off 16 points after halftime with a pair of 3-pointers to keep the Lancers in contention. A trey from Vanderhegghen tied the score at 47-47, but the Cougars went back on top 53-50 with 2:53 remaining.
A basket in the paint from Dennis Williams brought Grace to within one. After a turnover by the Cougars, Chad Hoffer converted a hard drive in the paint with 1:12 on the clock. Hoffer's basket gave the Lancers their first lead since the score was 7-6. On the next play, Vanderhegghen stole a crosscourt pass, raced down the court and made the layup to lift Grace ahead by three.
Spring Arbor missed a pair of potential game-tying 3-pointers over the final eight seconds, and Grace survived a missed bonus free throw to escape with the three-point win.
The win puts Grace in a five-way tie for second place in the league standings, one game behind league leader and NAIA No. 1-ranked Indiana Wesleyan.
Vanderhegghen led all players with 18 points. He made 8-of-10 from the floor to go along with four rebounds and three steals. Dennis Williams finished with 14 points and six boards, and Logan Irwin had 8 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 0 turnovers.
After shooting 25 percent in the first half, Grace found its shooting stroke in the second half by making 60 percent from the floor. Grace also held Spring Arbor to two free throw attempts over the final 20 minutes.
The Lancers will return to the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center on Saturday for a doubleheader with St. Francis. The women will start at 1 p.m. with the men's game to tip off at 3 p.m.
