WINONA LAKE, Ind. – Grace College's men's basketball team put the finishing touches on a perfect weekend with a 92-84 win over Northwestern Ohio on Saturday afternoon.
Matt Jennings led the Lancers with 22 points, and Jaret Sons nearly double-doubled with eight points and 10 rebounds. Senior Charlie Warner added 13 points including his 1,000th as a member of the Lancers.
Grace (2-0) led the whole game shooting 52 percent as a team.
The Lancers got off to a strong start and jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead, culminating in a 3-point bucket from Jennings.
After UNOH fought back to bring the game to within three at 20-17, the Lancers went on a 7-0 run to build their largest lead of the game at 10. Warner put an exclamation point on the run with a block on the defensive end and then ran the floor to finish with a basket to put the Lancers up 27-17.
The Racers pulled within three at 36-33 and threatened to tie the game, but Eddie Gill IV grabbed a steal and had a nice, two-man break with Myles Johnson to stop the Racers' momentum.
The teams traded baskets as the half wound down, and Haden Deaton scored at the buzzer to give the Lancers a 53-49 advantage heading into the half.
Gill propelled the Lancers in the first half with 12 points, 3 assists and 3 steals.
The Lancers were unable to break away in the second period; the Racers kept the score within single digits for the majority of the second half.
The Lancers saw their lead dwindle to three midway through the half, but again Grace refused to relinquish its advantage. Sons sparked Grace with his playmaking for three straight scoring possessions that put the Lancers back up by nine, 77-68.
The Lancers went the final 7:33 of action without scoring a basket, but Grace was able to maintain the lead with a strong showing from the charity stripe. Jennings, who scored 19 second-half points, was an outstanding 11-of-12 on free throws.
Sons hit a pair of free throws and came up with defensive rebound that ended any hope of a UNOH comeback. Jennings finished the game with two more free throws, giving the game its final score of 92-84.
Sons led all players with 10 rebounds, Gill amassed 15 points, 3 assists, 3 boards and 4 steals, and Deaton shot 7-of-11 from the floor for 18 points.
Warner scored 13 points as Grace's fourth double-digit scorer, and Schiele added nine points off the bench.
Grace shot 85 percent on free throws attempts, making 29-of-34. The Lancers also had a 39-25 advantage in rebounding.
Grace will travel to Rio Grande, Ohio, on Friday to play Michigan-Dearborn at 4 p.m. in the opening round of the Rio Grande Tournament.
