WINONA LAKE, Ind. – Grace's men's basketball team secured another critical Crossroads League win with a 70-57 victory over Spring Arbor on Tuesday.
The Lancers (19-6, 9-4 CL) moved into a three-way tie for second place in the CL standings, setting up a pivotal matchup on Saturday at No. 13 St. Francis. Grace and USF are tied with Bethel for second place.
Grace used an efficient, balanced offense and a lockdown defense in the second half to pull out the convincing victory at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.
The Cougars started off the game on the better foot, opening a 7-2 lead after two minutes. It took Grace 10 minutes to tie the game at 20-20 after a pair of free throws from Caleb Featherston.
Back-to-back 3-pointers from the Cougars helped Spring Arbor reestablish a six-point edge with less than seven minutes remaining in the half. But Grace ended the half on a blistering pace to take control of the contest.
The Lancers closed out the half on a 15-3 run to go ahead 37-31 at halftime. Featherston scored seven points during Grace's spurt, and Adrian Makolli converted a tip-in basket to beat the halftime buzzer. Both teams hit at least 50 percent of their field goals in the first period.
Grace's defense helped turn the tide in the Lancers' favor for good to start the second half. Spring Arbor missed four field goals and had four turnovers over the first five minutes of the period. As a result, the Lancers built up a 47-33 lead. From the last 6:00 of the first half to the first 5:00 of the second half, Grace outscored Spring Arbor 25-5.
Three minutes later, the Cougars had clawed back to within nine points. But Grace scored on three of its next four possessions to claim a 15-point lead and never looked back, cruising for the 13-point win. Spring Arbor was held to 26 points in the second half, committing eight turnovers and grabbing just nine rebounds over the final 20 minutes.
Logan Irwin had scoring honors on the night with 15 points, hitting a trio of 3-pointers with 5 assists, 2 steals and 0 turnovers. Makolli had a career-high 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting, adding nine rebounds and two blocked shots.
Featherston finished with 11 points off the bench, and Brandon Vanderhegghen tallied eight points and four boards.
Overall Grace had a 30-20 advantage in rebounding, including 17-9 in the second half. Grace also shot 50 percent from the floor for the game.
The Lancers' game on Saturday with St. Francis is a doubleheader in Fort Wayne. The women's Grace/USF game will tip off at 1 p.m. with the men's game to follow at 3 p.m.
