No. 9 Lancers muscle by SAU
WINONA LAKE, Ind. – Grace’s men’s basketball team used a dominant inside presence to defeat Spring Arbor 89-61 on Tuesday.
The No. 9 Lancers scored 62 of their 89 points in the paint, outscoring the Cougars just with paint points.
Elijah Malone (21 points) and Eddie Gill IV (20 points) powered Grace’s offense, scoring on a variety of drives and post moves for the Lancers (18-3, 7-2 Crossroads League).
Ian Scott began the game by scoring the first three points, and the Lancers never lost the lead.
Gill was a driving force in the first half. He was virtually unstoppable driving to the basket, and he also produced a few steals and fastbreak layups.
Back-to-back scores from Gill put Grace ahead 24-14 after eight minutes of play, forcing a timeout by SAU.
Grace maintained a double-digit cushion for much of the first half, pushing the lead to as large as 18 (46-28) with three minutes to play.
The Lancers coasted into halftime with a 47-35 lead. Gill was perfect from the floor, shooting 8 of 8 for his 17 points. He added three steals. Gill’s previous career high in scoring before Tuesday night was 17 points, which he matched before halftime against SAU.
Grace had 36 points in the paint and shot 63 percent overall from the floor. The shooting percentage masked a 1 of 7 outing from 3-point range by Grace.
The Cougars (6-15, 0-9 CL) showed signs of a fight in the second half. SAU trimmed Grace’s lead down to nine with 16:21 on the clock.
Four minutes later, Grace’s lead had dwindled to seven at 59-52.
But Grace erupted with a 12-3 run over the next three minutes to reestablish a comfortable lead. Frankie Davidson started Grace’s run with a 3-pointer, and Cade Gibbs scored five straight points.
The Lancers’ defense eventually took over late. Spring Arbor finished the game without scoring over the final 6:03. As a result, Grace ran away to the final 28-point margin of victory.
Gill shot 9 of 10 for his career-high 20 points, adding five boards and three steals. Malone tallied 21 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks; he shot 7 of 9 overall.
Ian Scott was also efficient by shooting 7 of 8 from the floor, tallying 17 points and seven boards. His breakaway dunk late in regulation put the exclamation mark on Grace’s win.
Davidson finished with 13 points, 6 boards and 4 assists, and Cade Gibbs tallied 10 points, 7 boards and 2 assists.
Grace was only 2 of 15 (13 percent) on 3-pointers, but the team shot 58 percent overall. Grace also had a plus-16 advantage in rebounds at 40-26.
The Lancers will remain at home on Saturday, hosting Mt. Vernon Nazarene at 3 p.m. The game will follow the Grace/MVNU women’s game at 1 p.m.
Recent Comments