MARION, Ind. - Grace's men's basketball team was held under 70 points for just the third time this season, faltering 79-69 at No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan on Saturday.
The No. 14 Lancers (19-7, 8-6 Crossroads League) shot a better percentage than the Wildcats (23-3, 14-0 CL) and had one more rebound. But Grace turned the ball over 19 times, and the Wildcats shot 36 free throws.
Grace began the game sluggishly; the Lancers almost immediately faced a double-digit deficit. IWU grabbed a 12-2 lead before four minutes had expired.
Grace still trailed by double figures at the midway mark of the half before a 6-0 spurt pulled Grace to within six. Jake Wadding had four of those points.
The Wildcats pushed their lead up to nine in the final minute of the half, but Grace scored five quick points before halftime.
The Lancers scored last when Brycen Graber made a shot in the final 11 seconds, and IWU led 41-35 at halftime.
Grace (47 percent) shot better than IWU (41 percent) from the floor before halftime. But the Lancers committed nine turnovers and shot just 5 of 10 on free throws.
Grace began the second half by applying pressure on the Wildcats. Eddie Gill IV had a driving layup to cut the deficit to four.
A few minutes later, Grace missed a trio of 3-pointers that would have cut further into IWU's lead. But shortly after, Wadding and Frankie Davidson made layups to bring Grace to within three at 44-41.
Unfortunately for Grace, the Lancers' offense hit a dry spell for the next 10 minutes. Grace scored just nine points over the next 10:55, allowing the Wildcats to take control of the contest.
With less than five minutes remaining, Grace's deficit had ballooned from three points to 18.
The Lancers continued to battle until the final possession, trimming IWU's lead down to 10. But the damage had already been done.
Grace shot 46 percent from the floor compared to 42 percent for IWU. The Lancers also had one more rebound than IWU.
The biggest difference came at the foul line and in the turnover battle. The Wildcats forced 19 turnovers by Grace, directly resulting in 19 points for IWU.
IWU also shot 27 of 36 from the free throw line, making more foul shots than Grace attempted (14 of 20).
Davidson finished the game with 18 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists, and Wadding added 11 points and four boards.
Jakob Gibbs scored 10 points off the bench before fouling out, and Elijah Malone had seven points and two blocks in 15 minutes while battling foul trouble.
Ian Scott tallied 8 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocked shots, and Cade Gibbs chipped in 6 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals.
The Lancers are back home on Wednesday for a women's/men's doubleheader against Goshen. The women's game will tip off at 6 p.m. with the men's game to follow at 8 p.m.
