BOURBONNAIS, Ill. - Grace's men's basketball team continued its strong postseason play to begin the 2022 NAIA National Championships.
The seventh-seeded Lancers took down No. 10 Cumberlands 73-71 on Friday in the NAIA Opening Round, presented by Ballogy.
Grace advances to play the host school No. 2 Olivet Nazarene on Saturday at 6 p.m. in the Round of 32. The winner of that game will advance to the NAIA final site in Kansas City.
The Lancers have now won four straight games — all in postseason play. Grace won three straight road games to win the 2022 Crossroads League Tournament prior to Friday's game.
Grace led by 15 with 4:45 remaining in the contest, but the Lancers had to survive a late rally from Cumberlands to secure the victory.
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Grace led for nearly the entire game, but the Lancers were unable to pull away completely.
Grace scored on four straight possessions in the opening minutes, all of which came from low post touches.
The Lancers excelled in the paint in the early portions. Elijah Malone did not miss a shot, making all five of his field goals in the half. He and Jake Wadding threw down emphatic dunks at the onset of the game.
A strong dunk by Cade Gibbs lifted Grace to a 20-12 lead at the midway point of the first half. A minute later, he sank a 3-pointer to give the Lancers an 11-point lead, the largest of the half.
Grace still led by 11 with six minutes on the clock, but the Patriots charged to life. Cumberlands ripped off eight points in just over a minute, slicing Grace's lead to three. The Patriots pulled to within two with 3:26 remaining.
But Grace found a jolt just before halftime. A triple from Carter Stoltzfus was followed up by an and-1 layup by Ian Scott.
The Lancers went into halftime with a 40-34 lead. Grace shot 53 percent from the floor compared to 35 percent for the Patriots. Malone led Grace with 12 first-half points.
The Lancers turned the ball over eight times and shot six fewer free throws than Cumberlands.
The second half followed a similar trajectory. A triple from Frankie Davidson was followed by a Wadding dunk, pushing Grace's cushion to 11 before four minutes had expired in the half.
Scott was a central figure for the Lancers during the middle of the second half. His cutting and finishing at the rim gave the Patriots fits.
His and-1 with 8:52 remaining gave Grace its largest lead of the game at 65-49. His dunk a minute later maintained Grace's 16-point lead.
But the Lancers' offense dried up over the final several minutes. Grace scored just six points over the last 7:45 of action and just three points over the final 4:46.
As a result, Cumberlands was able to chip away at Grace's lead. The Patriots scored four quick points with 1:30 left to pull within three, and Grace missed two free throws in response.
The Lancers earned a defensive stop on the next possession, and Davidson sank two free throws to extend the lead to five.
Cumberlands raced down and drilled a 3-pointer to make the score 73-71, and Grace turned the ball over in the backcourt to keep Cumberlands' hopes alive.
But the Lancers survived two desperation shots in the waning seconds, holding on for the narrow two-point win.
Davidson finished with 18 points and eight rebounds while shooting 5 of 11. Malone shot 6 of 6 for his 17 points, adding six boards and two blocks before fouling out.
Scott had 14 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks, Jakob Gibbs had eight points and three boards, and Cade Gibbs tallied 7 points, 3 boards and 2 assists.
Eddie Gill IV notched four assists and two points, Jake Wadding had four points and three assists, Carter Stoltzfus tallied three points and seven boards, and Brycen Graber dished out six assists.
The Lancers shot 53 percent from the floor and 46 percent on 3-pointers while holding Cumberlands to 37 percent overall and 22 percent on triples. Grace also had 18 assists on 26 made field goals as well as a plus-7 edge in rebounds.
Cumberlands kept the game close thanks to Grace's 19 turnovers. The Patriots, who had just seven turnovers, outscored Grace 18-7 in points off turnovers.
Grace will take on the host Olivet Nazarene tomorrow. ONU is also coming off a narrow win, escaping No. 15 seed Lourdes thanks to a buzzer-beating game winner.
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