MARION, Ind. - Grace's men's basketball team passed one of its biggest tests of the season on Wednesday night.

The No. 1 Lancers collected another ranked win, smashing No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan 99-71 on the road in the marquee top-five matchup.

Grace, selected earlier in the day as the NAIA's top-ranked team, improves to 21-0 on the season. The Lancers also now have a two-game cushion for first place in the Crossroads League (11-0); they hold the tiebreaker after sweeping the regular season against second-place IWU.

Grace's victory also snapped a 13-game winning streak for the Wildcats (18-3, 9-2). Grace has won three straight games against the Wildcats and three in a row in Marion, Ind.

The Lancers battled their way to their third consecutive win over a team in the NAIA poll (No. 23 Bethel, Marian-receiving votes).

Grace was robust on both sides of the court, shooting 57 percent from the floor and having six players score at least eight points. The Wildcats were muted to 39 percent shooting and were outrebounded by 11.

Elijah Malone (26 points) and Ian Scott (23 points) combined for 49 points; the sharpshooting post players nailed 9 of 14 from beyond the arc between the pair, including a 5-of-6 performance from Scott.

Defensively, Grace immediately asserted itself with three early blocks, including a pair from Malone.

Grace handled the early crowd to grab a 10-5 lead, overcoming a trio of turnovers in the first few minutes.

Malone had two more early blocks, but the Wildcats still managed to even the score at 12s.

The next few minutes were tightly contested; Grace's bench gave the Lancers a boost from deep with 3-pointers from Carter Stoltzfus and Brett Sickafoose.

Scott then swished back-to-back triples to hand Grace a 26-20 lead.

The Lancers grew careless with the ball, losing the ball on three straight possessions. IWU scored six straight to even the score, but that proved to be the high point of the game for the Wildcats.

Grace unleashed a furious run to end the first half. Cade Gibbs and Brycen Graber ended Grace's drought with a pair of 3-pointers.

Malone scored five straight points to push Grace's lead to 11. The Lancers then attacked the rim relentlessly, netting three consecutive layups to cap off a 17-0 run.

IWU scored to stop Grace's run, but Malone soon countered with a left-handed hook shot and a 3-pointer to hand the Lancers an 18-point lead.

Grace sprinted into halftime with a 50-33 lead, ending the half on a 22-5 run.

In the first half, Grace was dominant offensively (56 percent from the floor) and defensively, holding the Wildcats to 32 percent shooting.

Malone was a wrecking ball with 12 points and seven blocked shots, and Scott scored 10 points on 4 of 5 shooting.

The Wildcats scored more effectively to begin the second half, but they had no answer for Grace's attack.

An and-1 from Cade Gibbs was followed by a driving layup from Jakob Gibbs as Grace roared ahead 65-45.

The Lancers' lead hovered around 20 for most of the half, surging to 23 on an emphatic putback dunk from Ian Scott.

Three more layups in the span of a minute gave Grace a commanding 27-point lead (83-56) with 6:32 remaining; IWU called timeout as the home team searched for answers.

Malone's 3-pointer with three minutes to play lifted Grace to a 95-62 lead, and two free throws from Ian Raasch gave Grace a 34-point lead.

Grace further extends its longest winning streak in team history, also extending Grace's best start to a season in the process.

Malone finished with 26 points, 7 blocks, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 0 turnovers in 29 minutes; he shot 10 of 14 from the floor and 4 of 8 on 3s.

Scott had 23 points, 6 boards and 2 assists; he was almost perfect with his shooting, making 9 of 10 overall and 5 of 6 from beyond the arc.

Cade Gibbs muscled his way to 14 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists, and Jakob Gibbs had 10 points, 6 assists (career high) and 5 boards.

Graber tallied 9 points, 8 assists and 4 rebounds, Sickafoose notched eight points and three rebounds, Stoltzfus had 3 points, 3 boards and 3 assists, and Jake Wadding chipped in 2 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block and 1 steal.

Grace handed IWU its worst loss since Feb. 5, 2005.

Grace will remain on the road on Wednesday, traveling to Spring Arbor for another Crossroads League doubleheader.