men's basketball team skip by Spring Arbor 90-76 on Saturday.
Scott played a practically perfect second half. The senior poured in 26 points after halftime, shooting 10 of 10 from the floor. He finished the contest with 29 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocked shots.
The No. 12 Lancers (18-4, 10-2 Crossroads League) won their fifth straight game. They moved into a tie for first place (with Bethel) in the league standings with six games remaining.
The two teams played evenly through the midway mark of the first half. Brett Sickafoose helped Grace with two early 3-pointers.
With the score even at 16-16, Grace began to pull away. Justin DeGraaf was a key catalyst, drilling a trio of 3-pointers, and Hunter Walston scored four. DeGraaf's third triple put the Lancers ahead 36-26 with five minutes left in the half.
Grace rode that momentum and claimed a 44-34 lead at halftime.
Both teams shot at least 50 percent from the floor. Grace had an advantage with seven 3s before halftime (at a 50 percent clip) while turning the ball over just three times.
DeGraaf had 11 points before halftime, and Sickafoose added 10.
Scott wasted little time getting to work once the second half began. He scored on Grace's first two possessions and soon added two free throws.
Brycen Graber also was active in the early minutes. He converted an and-1 and swished a triple before six minutes had expired, opening up a 62-44 lead.
The Lancers maintained a double-digit cushion for the rest of the way, and Scott put an exclamation point on the win with a closing dunk.
Scott's 29 points came on 11 of 13 shooting.
As a team, Grace shot 61 percent overall, including a stunning 67 percent after halftime.
The Lancers also enjoyed 11 more rebounds and had just nine turnovers.
Grace has now had five straight games with 10 or fewer turnovers.
DeGraaf produced 15 points off the bench on 6 of 7 shooting, and Sickafoose finished with 12 points and five rebounds.
Graber tallied 10 points and seven assists, Gage Sefton had 8 points, 6 boards and 2 assists, Ian Raasch notched seven points with four boards, and Stoltzfus collected 5 points, 3 steals, 2 assists and 2 boards.
Saturday's game had two ceremonies. Pregame, Graber was honored for reaching 500 career assists. At halftime, Grace recognized its longtime athletic office manager Kelly Sharp as she is set to retire at the end of the school year.
The Lancers will play at home again on Wednesday with a 7:30 p.m. meeting with Taylor.
