BOULDER, Colo. - Grace's men's basketball team enjoyed an exhibition game to remember on Sunday, taking on NCAA Div. I Colorado.

The Lancers reunited on the court with Colorado starting center Elijah Malone, who was an NAIA National Player of the Year for Grace before transferring to CU to conclude his eligibility.

Grace's young team (no seniors on the roster) put up an impressive display against the Buffaloes, leading at halftime and holding a lead with 16 minutes remaining in the contest.

Colorado flexed its athleticism down the stretch, however, pulling away to a 92-66 exhibition victory. The Lancers led for nearly half the game, but the Buffaloes owned the second half to finish on top.

The Lancers started the game slowly, struggling to find their shooting touch. Grace did not score its first points until two free throws from Ian Raasch with 16:47 left in the half.

But once Grace found its rhythm, the Lancers were hard to stop.

Raasch got Grace on track, scoring Grace's first six points with a pair of strong finishes. Gage Sefton then hit a 3-pointer, pushing the Lancers in front 9-7. 

The Buffaloes called timeout to slow the Lancers, but it had little effect on Grace.

Two quick triples from subs Luke Bricker and Cannen Houser grew Grace's advantage to 17-11 with 11 minutes remaining in the half.

CU responded with seven unanswered points to regain the lead, but Michael Wellman scored two straight layups to push Grace back in front.

With seven minutes left in the half, the Lancers made another charge. Grace ripped off nine points in a row to open up a 10-point lead (32-22). Tyler Raasch and Sefton combined for all nine points during the spurt.

CU had another big run up its sleeve as the half wore down. The Buffs went on a 10-0 run in a two-minute span to propel in front 34-32.

But Wellman drilled a pull-up 3-pointer in response to regain the lead, and a late layup from Houser pushed Grace in front 37-34 as the game reached halftime. Grace led for over 13 minutes of the 20-minute opening half.

Grace used 11 players in the first half, leaning on its depth to battle the altitude difference while playing in Boulder (5,345-foot elevation).

The teams shot similarly in the half with Grace at 36 percent and CU at 38 percent. But Grace committed only five turnovers and went 8 of 8 from the free throw line to help its cause.

Wellman led all players with nine points at the break. Sefton had eight points, and Tyler Raasch tallied 4 points, 3 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 assists and 2 steals. Ian Raasch tallied six points and six boards.

Grace scored on its first two possessions of the second half thanks to layups from Ian Raasch and Hunter Walston.

But ball control issues began to plague Grace; the Lancers turned the ball over five times in a three-minute span, allowing Colorado to grab the lead for good.

Grace was then held scoreless for over three minutes as the Lancers missed five straight field goals. CU took advantage by growing its lead to 10 (58-48) with 11:23 on the clock.

The Buffaloes found confidence at that point, eventually using a 16-0 run to put further distance between the sides.

Grace began subbing out its starters with seven minutes remaining with the start of the regular season looming later this week.

The Lancers found late highlights with two quick 3-pointers from Seth Martin and Cole Hayworth.

Grace used all 14 players on the roster in the win; incredibly 12 of the 14 Lancers registered a point. The Lancers shot 95 percent from the free throw line in the game (18 of 19).

Ian Raasch nearly had a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds, one point away from being the top scorer in the game. Wellman also had 13 points, shooting 5 of 9 from the floor.

Sefton had nine points and two assists, and Walston tallied five points and four boards.

Houser notched 5 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds, Hayworth scored five, and Gavin Betten tallied two points and four rebounds.

The Lancers will officially kick off the season on Friday at home. Grace will host Governors State at 7:30 p.m. at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.