MISHAWAKA, Ind. - An upset bid from Grace's men's basketball team came up short on Wednesday in the Crossroads League Tournament quarterfinals.
The Lancers (14-17) faded in the final five minutes in a 102-92 loss at No. 3 Bethel.
Logan Godfrey produced a team-high 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting, and Erik Bowen added 20 points on 7-of-11 from the floor.
Grace was unable to overcome the sharp shooting by the Pilots (27-4). Bethel shot 61 percent from the floor, 60 percent from the 3-point line and a sizzling 34-of-36 (94 percent) from the foul line.
The first half was a barnburner. The teams combined to score 108 points before halftime with 11 3-pointers made.
Midway into the first half, Bethel had established an eight-point lead, but Grace showed plenty of fight. Tre Olive and Chad Hoffer hit triples to nearly erase the Pilots' lead.
Later in the half, Logan Godfrey converted an and-1 to cut Bethel's lead to one, and Hoffer swished a stepback 3-pointer to put Grace on top with 3:52 remaining in the half.
The game went into halftime knotted at 54-54 as Jaret Sons scored the final points of the half.
In the second half, Grace quickly pulled out to a 60-56 lead after three minutes of play, but Bethel rallied back in front.
The Pilots held a slight lead for much of the middle portions of the half. Grace stayed close thanks to timely 3-pointers from Hoffer and Sons.
Hoffer forced a turnover with four minutes to play, and Godfrey threw down a contested fastbreak dunk to jolt the Lancers and cut the deficit to 87-83.
But Bethel answered with a 9-3 run over the next 2:20 to effectively seal the win. Grace missed three free throws and three field goals during that spurt. The Pilots, on the other hand, sank their final 11 free throws of the game to pull away.
Hoffer was pivotal off the bench, scoring 15 points with 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
Braxton Linville turned in 11 points, 8 assists, 4 steals and 4 boards, Stephen Halstead added six points and five assists, and Charlie Warner scored seven points off the bench.
Wednesday's game was also the final head-to-head matchup between Grace coach Jim Kessler and Bethel coach Mike Lightfoot as Lightfoot announced he will retire at season's end.
The Lancers will turn their attention to the NCCAA National Championships. Grace will compete in regional play before playing in the national tournament, hosted by the Lancers at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center from March 15-18.
