MARION, Ind. - With seven minutes left in the first half, Grace's men's basketball team faced a seemingly impossible task.
The No. 7 Lancers trailed the Crossroads League leaders Indiana Wesleyan by 22 on the road with a 32-10 deficit.
But the Lancers authored a resurgence for the ages. Grace's comeback cagers completed the astonishing revival, winning by 14 with the final score of 92-78.
The win moves the Lancers (20-3, 10-3 CL) into a tie with No. 6 IWU for first place in the league standings with just five games remaining.
Elijah Malone starred for Grace. The center scored 23 of his 29 points in the second half, shooting 12 of 15 from the floor and a perfect 9 of 9 after halftime.
Grace outscored the Wildcats (16-7, 10-3 CL) by 24 in the second half during the stunning comeback.
The first half was largely one to forget for Grace; the Lancers' offense was slow out of the gate.
The Lancers came up empty on their first eight possessions, allowing IWU to grab a 14-0 lead out of the gate. The Wildcats made six of their first eight field goals to charge ahead.
Grace finally got on the scoreboard when Jakob Gibbs stole the ball and raced down for a two-handed dunk.
The Wildcats' early onslaught continued, however; IWU amassed a 24-4 lead as Grace was forced to burn two early timeouts. The Wildcats shot 71 percent in the opening six minutes, including 80 percent (4-5) on 3-pointers.
Malone did his best to jumpstart Grace's offense with a trio of powerful dunks, but the Lancers' sloppy offense continued to hamper the visiting Lancers.
IWU built its largest lead of the game of 22 points with the score 32-10 with seven minutes left in the first half.
With less than six minutes left in the half, Grace still faced a 21-point deficit. But the Lancers began to show signs of life.
Carter Stoltzfus swished two straight jumpers, and Frankie Davidson made a dunk and a 3-pointer on consecutive possessions to chop IWU's lead to 12.
IWU was forced to call a timeout, which seemed to steady the Wildcats a bit.
Another late triple from Davidson maintained Grace's momentum, and Grace ended the half defensively with a block. A desperation halfcourt heave by Jakob Gibbs in the final seconds just missed the mark, but Grace still went into halftime with a glimmer of hope after battling back to a 42-32 deficit.
After their sluggish start, Grace still recovered to shoot 52 percent as a team in the half. IWU kept the hot hand throughout the half by shooting 59 percent. The Wildcats were also 50 percent (5 of 10) from the 3-point line.
Davidson led Grace with eight points, scoring all of his points in the final four minutes.
The second half belonged to the Lancers. Malone scored a reverse layup on the opening possession, and the teams traded baskets over the first few minutes.
A triple from Malone brought Grace within eight, and he followed that up with a floater in the lane.
A fastbreak resulted in a layup from Cade Gibbs, bringing Grace to within five at 56-51. IWU was forced to call timeout in front of its stunned home crowd.
The Wildcats clung to their small cushion for the next few minutes, but the Lancers continued to push. A 3-pointer from Malone at the top of the key pulled Grace within one at 68-67 with less than eight minutes to play.
The Lancers took their first lead of the game with a tip-in layup from Wadding. Wadding then made a steal and layup to increase the lead to three, and Malone followed that up with a composed post finish to push Grace's lead to five at 73-68.
The Wildcats burned another timeout as they faced a five-point hole with five minutes to play. The tactic did not work as Grace continued to pour it on the Wildcats. Grace raced out to an 11-point lead as the Lancers attacked the basket relentlessly. Malone was unstoppable as Grace's halfcourt offense hit its stride through the center.
The Wildcats had no answer for Grace's assault. From the 8:37 mark until 1:52 remaining, Grace outscored IWU 25-2. The Lancers made eight of their nine shots while holding IWU to 1 of 10 shooting.
The atmosphere for much of the second half felt like a Grace home game as a vocal throng of Lancer supporters cheered on Grace's immaculate recovery. Grace's crowd erupted with each made basket, turning Grace's 22-point deficit into a foggy memory.
Incredibly Grace made 12 of its final 13 field goals, including 6 of 7 from beyond the arc.
Grace ran out the clock in the final minute, swishing a 3-pointer on its final possession to put an exclamation mark on the win.
Grace shot 64 percent from the floor and 56 percent from the 3-point line. IWU shot 56 percent as a team and 50 percent on triples.
Malone's game-high 29 points came with 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot. Jakob Gibbs shot 7 of 10 for his 19 points, adding three assists and two steals.
Cade Gibbs produced 14 points, 7 boards and 3 assists, and Davidson ended with 11 points and four assists.
Stoltzfus (7 points, 2 assists), Ian Scott (7 points, 3 blocks, 2 assists) and Wadding (5 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists) were key figures as well.
The Lancers will return home on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. clash with Mt. Vernon Nazarene. Wednesday will also be Grace's Hoops for Hope game to raise funds for Hagen Knepp, the Lancers' freshman player who is battling cancer. A GoFundMe page is active now for Knepp, collecting funds to support the medical expenses for the Knepps. To donate online, visit www.gofundme.com/hoopin-for-hagen.
