WINONA LAKE, Ind. - An explosive first half pushed Grace's men's basketball team past Mt. Vernon Nazarene 103-93 on Saturday.

The No. 1 Lancers (15-0, 5-0 Crossroads League) maintained their perfect start to the year. 

Grace flexed its deep roster as usual. The Lancers had eight players score at least eight points, topping 100 points for the sixth time this year.

Grace's offense sizzled from the opening tipoff. Gage Sefton hit a triple on Grace's first possession, which was a sign of things to come in the half.

Two minutes later, Sefton hit his second 3-pointer, and Ian Raasch canned another as the Lancers quickly led 13-5.

The attack did not let up for the Lancers. Grace attacked the rim consistently and hit a 3-pointer seemingly every few minutes.

A triple from Hunter Walston with 12:45 left in the first half pushed Grace ahead by double digits, and the lead ballooned up as the half continued.

The bench continued with the scoring frenzy as Michael Wellman and Cannen Houser also joined the 3-point party.

Grace scored 11 straight points in the closing minutes of the half, and Sefton scored a turnaround jumper in the final seconds. 

The Lancers took a 57-28 lead into halftime. Grace shot an eye-popping 69 percent from the 3-point line, hitting 11 of 16 from deep. The Lancers shot 62 percent overall from the floor.

Six different players for Grace made a triple, including a trio from Sefton. Ian Raasch, Grady Carpenter and Wellman each hit a pair.

Grace outrebounded MVNU by 11 in the opening half and had 14 assists with just five turnovers.

In the second half, Carpenter scored on Grace's first possession, extending the Lancers' lead to 31.

But the Cougars were not prepared to fade. MVNU rattled off seven straight points, managing to claw back to 21.

A 10-0 run by MVNU allowed the Cougars to pull within 16 with 10:52 on the clock.

Grace settled at that point and kept the lead around 20 for the next six minutes.

The Cougars had one last push, outscoring Grace 14-2 over a three-minute span. A layup from the Cougars chopped Grace's cushion down to 96-89 with 1:45 on the clock. MVNU scored on seven straight possessions during the furious rally.

But the Lancers earned their way to the free throw line to close out the game. Grace made 7 of 8 from the foul line over the final 71 seconds, helping the Lancers ice the win.

Grace shot 20 of 23 (87 percent) at the charity stripe for the game.

Sefton led Grace with 19 points and nine rebounds, shooting 3 of 5 from beyond the arc.

Wellman scored a career-high 17 points on 6 of 8 shooting (3 of 4 on 3-pointers), and Ian Raasch racked up 17 points with five boards.

Walston tallied 13 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and 0 turnovers, and Gavin Betten scored nine points off the bench.

Tyler Raasch stuffed the stat sheet with 8 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 blocks, Carpenter had eight points with three assists, and Cannen Houser notched eight points and four assists.

Grace finished the game shooting 56 percent from the floor and 59 percent on triples (13 of 22). The Lancers grabbed 11 more rebounds than the Cougars.

This year's version of the Lancers are just the second team in program history to win its first 15 games of the season. The record for most wins to begin a year is 24 (set two seasons ago).

The Lancers are on the road twice next week. Grace will play at Marian on Jan. 7 and at No. 10 Indiana Wesleyan on Jan. 10.

Grace's next home game is a rivalry game against Bethel on Jan. 14.