Lancers Rally to Win Top-25 Showdown

WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Facing its first ranked test of the new season, Grace's young men's basketball team passed with flying colors.

The No. 7 Lancers (2-0) erased a sluggish first half with an impressive 96-81 win over No. 19 Morningside on Friday.

The game was the opener of the Crossroads/GPAC Challenge. The final games will be played at Huntington on Saturday. Grace will take on Briar Cliff on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Grace trailed by as many as 17 in the opening half, but the Lancers outscored the Mustangs by 17 after halftime to win by 15.

Grace put five players in double-digit scoring as the team's depth eventually got the better of the Mustangs.

The game could not have started worse for the Lancers on Friday. Grace opened the game ice-cold on offense, needing 6:32 to get on the scoreboard.

The Lancers missed their first seven shot attempts and turned the ball over four times.

Morningside, on the other hand, scored at will. The Mustangs raced out to a 15-0 lead to stun Grace.

Ian Raasch helped Grace find life, scoring the team's first five points. But the Mustangs continued to roll, pulling ahead by 17 (30-13) with eight minutes left in the half.

Grace owned the closing eight minutes, however. The Lancers erupted for 26 points over the final eight minutes, immediately closing the gap. Grace made all eight of its field goals to help atone for its early shooting woes.

Raasch was a constant threat in the paint, scoring eight points during that spurt, and Cole Hayworth scored four.

A triple from Michael Wellman in the final minute trimmed Morningside's lead down to two. Grace had a chance to take the lead in the waning seconds with a 3-point try, but Grace still went into halftime with momentum despite trailing 41-39.

Grace shot 46 percent from the floor and just 25 percent on 3-pointers. Morningside made a sizzling 59 percent of their field goals, including 62 percent on triples (8 of 13).

Raasch scored 13 points to lead all scorers. The Lancers helped their cause by shooting 12 of 13 (92 percent) on free throws in the half.

The second half began evenly with the Mustangs stubbornly clinging to the lead.

Three straight layups from Cannen Houser, Gavin Betten and Hunter Walston eventually tied the score 67-67 with 11:21 on the clock. 

Three minutes later, a Houser 3-pointer gave Grace its first lead of the game at 75-74. 

Not long after, Grady Carpenter caught fire with a pair of 3-pointers in quick succession.

The Lancers' momentum continued with a 12-0 run, including five points from Gage Sefton, as Grace opened up a 92-78 lead to keep the home crowd roaring.

The Mustangs had little left in response as Grace rolled away to a comfortable 15-point margin of victory.

Ian Raasch tied for scoring honors with 20 points, adding 6 assists and 4 rebounds while shooting 6 of 8 from the floor and 8 of 9 on free throws.

Sefton produced 16 points, 5 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals, and Carpenter had 13 points, 4 assists and 4 rebounds.

Walston notched 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and Betten tallied 11 points, 4 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals.

Houser racked up 9 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds off the bench, and Hayworth scored six points in eight minutes.

Grace shot 57 percent from the floor and 65 percent after halftime. The Lancers had 22 assists on 34 made field goals while only committing 11 turnovers.

The Lancers had a 25-9 advantage in fastbreak points, and 36-15 edge in bench points.