WINONA LAKE, Ind. – An unforgettable quarterfinal contest in the Crossroads League Tournament ended in defeat for the Lancers on Wednesday night.

Grace (21-10) trailed by as many as 20 points to Mt. Vernon Nazarene in the second half and were even behind by 15 with two minutes to play. And while the Lancers showed resolve down the stretch with valiant comebacks, Grace ultimately fell 92-86.

The Lancers will await the announcement of the NAIA National Championship qualifiers on March 4 to find out their postseason fate. Grace, currently ranked No. 21 in the NAIA Top 25, can still qualify as an at-large. Otherwise Grace will shift its attention to the NCCAA National Championships, held at Grace from March 18-21.

The Cougars (19-12) started the game with the hot hand. Mt. Vernon scored 28 points over the first 10 minutes of the half thanks to sharp shooting. The Cougars, who made 69 percent of their field goals in the first period, opened up a 26-14 lead after eight minutes.

Grace battled back to within five at 28-23 midway through the half, but Mt. Vernon ended the half on a strong note. The Cougars entered halftime on a 19-8 run, claiming a 47-31 advantage at halftime. Grace's did not make a field goal for the final 4:45 of the half.

Logan Irwin's eight points and five assists and Niko Read's seven points were a bright spot offensively for the Lancers.

Whatever was said by Grace head coach Jim Kessler in the halftime locker room worked as Grace came out with a purpose in the second half. The Lancers ripped off 17 unanswered points over a 4:00 span to start the second half, chopping the Cougars' 20-point lead down to 53-50. Brandon Vanderhegghen had nine points during Grace's charge.

A pair of timeouts by the Cougars in the early minutes of the half did not slow down the Lancers in front of a charged Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center crowd. Grace came within one point after a pair of free throws from Vanderhegghen with 12:06 on the clock, but Grace's rally ran dry.

The Cougars went on a 17-3 run of their own after Vanderhegghen's free throws to regain a 15-point edge with less than seven minutes on the clock. Mt. Vernon still led by 15 at 80-65 with 2:02 remaining before yet another near-miraculous comeback from the Lancers.

Stephen Halstead singlehandedly gave Grace hope, ripping off three 3-pointers in a 20-second span to cut Grace's deficit down to seven. The Cougars were sent to the free throw line down the stretch while Grace traded points with 3-pointers on their end. Vanderhegghen buried two more treys in the final minute, the last of which made the contest a one-possession game at 85-82 with 31 seconds left. But the Cougars made enough free throws to hold on for the six-point win. For the game, Mt. Vernon hit 26-of-32 (81 percent) from the foul line.

Vanderhegghen finished with a team-best 24 points, including 19 in the second half. He also grabbed a game-high six boards and had two steals. Read tallied 17 points with a trio of 3-pointers, and Irwin added 16 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals.

Dennis Williams scored 11 points with two blocked shots before fouling out, Halstead tallied nine off the bench, and Chad Hoffer chipped in five.