WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace's men's basketball team registered its sixth ranked win of the season on Saturday.

The No. 1 Lancers used a suffocating defensive effort to clamp down No. 22 Bethel, winning 72-62 to secure the season sweep.

With the victory, the Lancers (25-1, 15-1 CL) need just one more win to clinch the conference championship.

The regular season ends next week. Grace will travel to St. Francis on Wednesday night and will host Mt. Vernon Nazarene on Saturday at 3 p.m. Saturday's game will also be Senior Night.

Grace held the normally high-powered Bethel attack to 62 points, a season-low scoring output for the Pilots (18-8, 9-7 CL). It was the first time Bethel had been held to less than 74 points all season.

The Lancers' offense was balanced as usual, led by 21 points from Jakob Gibbs.

Grace began the game with a spark as Jakob Gibbs canned a triple on the game's first possession.

The Lancers then set the tone for the game with their defensive prowess. Bethel needed over three minutes to get on the scoreboard as Grace made clean shots hard to find.

The Pilots used a pair of triples to jolt their offense to life, but the Lancers refused to surrender the lead.

With 6:32 left in the half, Grace pushed its lead to eight at 24-16. The Lancers continued to pound the ball inside, giving Bethel trouble in the paint.

Brycen Graber canned a 3-pointer with less than a minute to go in the half, and Grace walked into halftime with a 36-23 lead.

Grace shot 52 percent from the floor in the half, led by 17 combined points from the Gibbs brothers. Bethel was muted to just 29 percent shooting, including 2 of 11 (18 percent) on 3-pointers.

Bethel chipped away at Grace's lead to begin the second half. After less than five minutes of play, the Pilots had trimmed the deficit to eight at 40-32.

But Grace's offense got back on track thanks to a handful of hustle plays. With 13 minutes left, Ian Scott blocked a fastbreak layup for the Pilots. He then raced down the court with the ball and made a no-look lob pass to Jake Wadding, who finished off the alley-oop to keep the crowd electrified at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.

The teams traded baskets over the next several minutes. Bethel made another run, coming to within four at 54-50 with seven minutes to play.

But Malone made a highlight reel play, dribbling behind his back around a defender and finishing a layup while getting fouled.

Malone's and-1 was followed by another and-1 from Jakob Gibbs, allowing Grace to establish a 10-point cushion.

Grace's defense did not give Bethel another chance for a rally. The Lancers held firm for the final 10-point win.

Jakob Gibbs was efficient with his 21 points, shooting 8 of 12 from the floor and 4 of 5 at the foul line.

Malone had a double-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks, and Ian Scott amassed 12 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals while shooting 3 of 3 from the floor and 6 of 6 on free throws.

Cade Gibbs had 10 points and five boards, and Wadding tallied 7 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.

Graber finished with 6 points, 4 boards and 3 assists, and Carter Stoltzfus added 2 points, 2 boards and 2 assists.

Grace overcame 17 turnovers by shooting 51 percent from the floor. They held Bethel to 36 percent shooting. Grace had 32 points in the paint and 18 points off the bench.