MOUNT VERNON, Ohio - Grace's men's basketball team began its final week of the regular season with a 77-70 defeat at Mt. Vernon Nazarene on Tuesday.

The Lancers (21-8, 11-6 Crossroads League) could not complete the season sweep of the Cougars (17-12, 8-9 CL) as a late-game rally came up short.

The Lancers scored the first points of the game on a pair of free throws from Kyle Fillman. But the home team ripped off 12 unanswered points after those free throws to jump ahead 12-2 early.

Grace did not make its first field goal until Dennis Williams's shot after five minutes of play. The Lancers' offense picked up steam soon after and cut the Cougars' lead to one possession at 16-15. Irwin eventually tied the score at 21-21 on a driving and-one layup with less than eight minutes left in the half.

The Cougars pulled away late in the half thanks to a pair of 3-pointers and led 38-31 at the break. The Lancers' shooting touch was off in the first period, making 33 percent from the floor and 20 percent from the 3-point line.

Grace struggled to cut into Mt. Vernon's cushion in the second half. The Cougars opened up an eight-point lead at 63-55, but Grace responded with six straight points to cut the gap to two with less than six minutes to play.

Mt. Vernon notched five quick points to bump up its lead to seven and still led 73-66 with less than two minutes left. Logan Irwin led a valiant comeback attempt for Grace with a jumper and a pair of free throws to make the score 73-70 with 35 seconds remaining.

The Cougars hit a pair of foul shots on their next possession, and Grace missed a jumper on the next play to allow Mt. Vernon to hold on for the win.

Irwin tied for scoring honors in the game with 20 points and added 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Williams connected on 7-of-12 field goals for 16 points to go along with eight boards.

Chad Hoffer was a spark off the bench with 13 points, and Fillman and Caleb Featherston notched six points apiece.

For the game, Grace shot 40 percent from the floor compared to 46 percent for Mt. Vernon. The Lancers hit just 1-of-11 from the 3-point line, but they did have a 19-9 advantage in made free throws.

Grace ends the regular season with one of the biggest games of the year. Grace will host archrival Bethel on Saturday at 3 p.m. for the women's/men's doubleheader at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center. Grace can jump Bethel for third place in the CL standings with a win over the Pilots. The game will also be "Senior Day" to honor graduating seniors Niko Read, Dennis Williams and Adrian Makolli.