WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace's men's basketball team took down St. Francis 85-74 in a gritty Crossroads League match on Wednesday night.
The No. 1 Lancers (21-0, 11-0 CL) continued their perfect season thanks to a stout defensive performance.
The Cougars came into the game averaging 88 points per game, but Grace held USF to 40 percent shooting and 14 points below their season average.
The first half was a physical one with defense and rebounding being fought for every minute of the half.
USF opened up a 12-6 lead at the onset. Grace bounced back to tie the score with layups from Gavin Betten, Gage Sefton and Grady Carpenter.
The score remained close for the rest of the half with each team trading small leads.
USF again claimed a six-point edge with 4:44 remaining in the opening half.
Sefton erased that gap with a pair of triples, and the game entered halftime knotted at 39-39.
Grace shot a sizzling 57 percent from the floor but hurt itself with seven turnovers. USF only shot 43 percent overall but helped its cause with just three turnovers.
The Lancers catapulted into the second half with an 11-0 run to take charge of the game. The Cougars called two timeouts in the first four minutes of the half to try to slow Grace's momentum.
Betten was an early contributor in the run with six points and an assist, and Hunter Walston scored five as well.
Grace's lead hovered around 10 points for most of the half. It grew to 15 (75-60) after an and-1 by Betten with six minutes to play.
The Cougars took advantage of a cold stretch from Grace, slicing the deficit down to seven with 3:43 on the clock.
Carpenter ended Grace's three-minute drought with a pair of free trows, and Grace continued to score down the stretch to keep USF at bay.
The Lancers enjoyed two exclamation points in the final few minutes. A lightning fast steal and pass from Carpenter set up Sefton for a breakaway jam with 2:17 on the clock.
In the final minute, Ian Raasch found an open lane and threw down an emphatic one-handed dunk over a defender for the finishing touch.
Betten impressed with 21 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks; he shot 9 of 13 from the floor.
Raasch shot 8 of 11 from the floor, amassing 17 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals.
Sefton produced 15 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals, and Walston collected 12 points, 6 boards and 5 assists.
Carpenter racked up 10 points, 4 assists, 5 boards and 2 steals, and Michael Wellman scored eight points with three assists.
Grace finished the contest by making 53 percent of its field goal attempts, overcoming an uncharacteristic 48 percent night at the free throw line.
The Lancers held USF to 40 percent shooting and 28 percent on triples. Grace racked up 54 points in the paint, 29 bench points and 23 fastbreak points.
Next up, the Lancers will travel to Huntington on Saturday for a 3 p.m. clash. Grace returns home on Feb. 4 against Spring Arbor.
