Grace’s Logan Irwin drives against Marian Tuesday night in a 65-60 loss. (Photo provided by the Grace College Sports Information Department)
WINONA LAKE – Grace’s men’s basketball team played 36 minutes of winning basketball on Tuesday night, pinning No. 13 Marian against the ropes.
Unfortunately for Grace, the final four minutes proved fatal.
The Knights (18-3, 6-3 Crossroads League) outscored Grace 12-0 in the final 4:23 to rally for a comeback victory and stun the No. 21-ranked Lancers 65-60 at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.
Grace seemed poised to secure the Top-25 win, holding a 60-53 lead after a 3-pointer by Brandon Vanderhegghen with 4:24 on the clock.
But Marian refused to fade. The Knights capitalized on Grace’s offensive drought and eventually tied the game at 60-60 on a triple by Caleb Begle with 1:41 to play.
After Grace came up empty on its next possession, the Knights took the lead with two free throws. The Lancers (16-5, 6-3 CL) were forced into a tough attempt late in the shot clock and missed the potential game-tying basket with :14 on the clock. Marian then sank two more free throws, making a Knights’ victory inevitable.
As a team, Grace missed its final nine shot attempts and had one turnover over the final 4:23. Six of Grace’s nine missed shots were 3-pointers.
The first half was a defensive struggle. It took Grace almost four minutes to get onto the scoreboard, but the Knights had issues of their own on offense.
With Marian ahead 12-9 in the early stages, the Lancers’ defense held the Knights without a made field goal for nearly four minutes.
Grace knotted the game at 14-14 and then found a burst. Chad Hoffer hit a 3-pointer, and Erik Bowen scored on consecutive possessions to help the Lancers build a seven point lead.
Marian rallied to even the game in the final minute, but a driving basket by Logan Irwin helped Grace to a 29-27 halftime lead.
Bowen was a central figure in the opening half, scoring 12 points. Marian, who leads the NAIA in 3-point shooting, was held to 1-of-9 shooting on 3’s.
Grace led for nearly the entire second half, but the Lancers were unable to find the knockout blow. Josh Ruggles gave Grace a lift with a 3-pointer and an assist on consecutive possessions. But Grace hit its fatal stretch shortly after, watching the Knights slowly rally for the win.
Bowen was the only Lancer to reach double figures, producing 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Irwin tallied nine points and five assists, and Vanderhegghen added eight points and seven rebounds.
Kyle Fillman finished with eight points and two blocked shots, and Caleb Featherston and Josh Ruggles each had six points.
The Lancers were held to 38-percent shooting, including 6-of-22 from beyond the arc. Grace set season-lows for free throws makes (4) and attempts (6) in defeat.
The Lancers will host their second ranked opponent of the week on Saturday when archival No. 9 Bethel visits Winona Lake. Grace and Bethel will play a women’s/men’s doubleheader at the MOCC, starting with the women at 1 p.m.
