WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace's men's basketball earned its fourth straight win in a comfortable 88-69 victory over Goshen on Wednesday.
The Lancers (15-4, 5-2 Crossroads League) fell behind in the early minutes, but Grace flexed its collective muscle with an impressive 43-10 run.
Grace dominated in the paint, scoring 55 percent of their points in the key (48 points). The Lancers also used strong bench play, producing 41 points apart from their starting five.
Goshen started the stronger of the two sides. Grace came up empty on its first three possessions, and the Maple Leafs seized momentum. Goshen opened the game with a 12-3 lead, but Grace was about to take over the game.
The Lancers took advantage by scoring from close range. Grace scored 12 of its next 14 points in the paint, erasing Goshen's nine-point lead in less than five minutes.
Goshen seemed shellshocked and could not put up a response. A late 3-pointer from Josh Ruggles gave the Lancers a 36-22 lead at halftime.
Overall the Lancers ended the half on a sizzling 33-10 run. Grace shot 60 percent from the floor in the first half while holding Goshen to a meager 33 percent.
The halftime break did little to slow Grace's momentum. The Lancers scored 10 unanswered points after halftime to open up a 24-point cushion.
Grace gave up 47 points in the second half, but the Lancers ripped off 52 of their own to cruise to a 19-point victory.
Coach Jim Kessler substituted liberally in the second half, using 14 players. Eleven of those 14 players registered a point.
Logan Godfrey put the exclamation mark on the game in the final three minutes. A few nifty passes from Erik Bowen and Josh Ruggles left Godfrey in space on the left side of the paint. Godfrey then rose up and jammed in his one-handed effort while being fouled.
Bowen scored 13 of his team-high 19 points in the first half, going 8-of-11 from the floor with eight rebounds and three steals.
Logan Irwin tallied 10 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, and Brandon Vanderhegghen added 10 points with 6-of-6 shooting from the foul line.
Tre Olive and Chad Hoffer had eight points off the bench, and Godfrey, Stephen Halstead and Ruggles chipped in seven points apiece.
As a team, Grace held a plus-8 advantage in rebounding.
The Lancers remain in a tie for second place in the league standings, deadlocked with Indiana Wesleyan one game behind league-leaders St. Francis. Grace will aim for its fifth-straight win on Saturday, traveling to Mt. Vernon Nazarene for a 2 p.m. contest.
