MOUNT VERNON, Ohio - Grace's men's basketball team had already wrapped up a share of the Crossroads League regular season crown before Saturday's game at Mt. Vernon Nazarene.

But the Lancers made sure no sharing would be needed. Grace beat MVNU 84-77 to earn sole ownership of the CL championship, holding off second-place Bethel by one game in the final standings.

Grace and MVNU will meet again in just three days. The Lancers, who have home-court advantage throughout the CL Tournament, will host the Cougars in the quarterfinals on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Ian Scott and Ian Raasch tied for scoring honors for Grace with 21 points apiece, and the Lancers' efficient offense held off the Cougars to end the regular season.

No. 6 Grace (23-5, 15-3 CL) displayed stout defense to begin the game, holding MVNU scoreless for nearly three straight minutes.

The Cougars sparked to life with back-to-back triples, but Grace soon asserted itself. A 4-point play from Brett Sickafoose gave Grace the lead for good with 14:43 left in the first half.

A few minutes later, Carter Stoltzfus hit a triple and scored a fastbreak layup in a 13-second span.

Grace's lead grew to as much as 15 in the opening half. A late flurry by Grace allowed the Lancers to lead 43-31 as the game reached halftime.

Grace shot a sizzling 55 percent from the floor as a team compared to 38 percent for MVNU.

Raasch helped the Lancers start the second half on a positive note; the sophomore scored the first four points of the half, including a steal and slam to push Grace's cushion to 47-31.

The Cougars were ready to rally, however. Midway into the half, Grace was held to two points over a 4:22 segment. MVNU capitalized by slashing Grace's lead down to three with nine minutes remaining.

Grace countered with an 8-0 run, propelled by two straight layups from Scott.

MVNU again was prepared for a run. The Cougars pulled to within three again, but Scott provided some breathing room for Grace with two dunks over the final four minutes.

Brett Sickafoose put the finishing touches on the win with four points in the last minute, allowing the Lancers to walk away with the seven-point win.

The Lancers shot 51 percent for the game, 30 percent on 3s and 80 percent on free throws.

Scott tallied 21 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks and 1 steal, and Raasch had 21 points, 5 boards, 2 assists, 1 block and 1 steal.

Sickafoose scored 13 points with three assists, Gage Sefton notched 8 points, 9 boards and 2 assists, and Stoltzfus added 9 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.

Justin DeGraaf scored seven points off the bench, and Brycen Graber added 5 points, 3 assists and 1 blocked shot.

The Lancers have now won the regular season championship three straight times from the Crossroads League. They're also three-time defending champs in the CL Tournament.