WINONA LAKE, Ind. – Grace's men's basketball team held off a threat from a stingy opening-round opponent to kick off the NAIA National Championships on Friday.
The No. 1-seeded Lancers (29-3) topped 16th-seeded Johnson 88-80 in the NAIA First Round, presented by Ballogy.
The victory moves Grace into Saturday's NAIA Second Round. The Lancers will host Southeastern (Fla.) in the Second Round on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.
The winner of Saturday's game will earn a spot to the NAIA's final site in Kansas City for the remaining 16 teams in the national tournament.
The first half was tightly contested. Grace led for 14 of the 20 minutes, but the Lancers struggled to build a sizeable margin.
Hunter Walston scored five points in the first few minutes as Grace opened up a 9-6 lead.
The teams traded baskets in a fast-paced opening period. The first foul was not called until nearly eight minutes into the game.
Gavin Betten and Ian Raasch converted and-1s just two minutes apart, helping the Lancers to a six-point edge.
But the Royals responded with six points of their own to even the score.
Tyler Raasch answered with a dunk, which was quickly followed by a layup from Betten and a triple from Cannen Houser to create a seven-point cushion.
Johnson again erased the gap and eventually tied the score. A layup from Ian Raasch pushed Grace ahead 37-35, which marked the final points of the first half.
Ian Raasch scored a team-high nine points, and Betten scored seven points with three blocks in the half.
Grace shot 52 percent from the floor compared to Johnson's 44 percent.
The Royals began the second half with confidence, rattling off nine points over the first three minutes to take a one-point advantage.
Gage Sefton began to put his imprint on the game at that point, scoring on a variety of drives in the lane. The junior poured in eight points in a three-minute span to steady the Lancers.
A minute later, a 3-pointer from Houser handed Grace a 56-48 lead with 12 minutes to play.
The Lancers' offense continued to surge thanks to finishes at the rim and free throws. A triple by Sefton handed Grace a 16-point lead (69-53) with 8:07 remaining.
But again the Royals did not flinch. Johnson scored 10 unanswered points to chop Grace's cushion down to six.
The Lancers replied with a dunk from Betten and another triple from Sefton to slow Johnson's momentum.
Grace's lead hovered around eight for the final five minutes. The Lancers took care of the win by making 10 free throws over the last 3:30, securing their spot in the NAIA Second Round.
Grace finished the game making 55 percent overall from the floor compared to 46 percent for Johnson. Grace had major advantages in fastbreak points (29 to 11) and paint points (52 to 38), while also turning the ball over just seven times. It marked the second-fewest turnovers in a game that Grace has had this year.
Sefton led all players with 24 points. He shot 10 of 12 from the floor while also collecting 8 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals.
Ian Raasch racked up 20 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals while making all eight of his free throws.
Betten produced 13 points, 5 boards, 3 assists and 3 blocks, Tyler Raasch had 10 points and three assists, and Houser had 9 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds.
Walston finished with 8 points, 4 boards and 3 assists, and Grady Carpenter tallied four points with four assists.
