News Story

Lancers Hang on to Defeat Taylor

2/6/10

WINONA LAKE, Ind. – Duke Johnson proved why Grace is one of the top free throw shooting teams in the nation on Saturday.

Johnson battled in the post all day and drained 10-of-10 from the charity stripe, leading the Lancers (15-11; 5-8 MCC) to a 61-56 victory over Taylor. He had a game-high 16 points to go along with eight rebounds, handing the Trojans (11-16; 2-11 MCC) their sixth straight loss.

The victory also assures Grace of their sixth consecutive winning season.

“A lot of teams this time of the season have lost the drive to practice hard,” said head coach Jim Kessler. “But we are still wanting to become a better team, and we are still bringing that kind of positive energy this late in the season. This win was big for us.”

The contest was very back-and-forth, featuring 10 ties and 10 lead changes. Grace took the lead for good at the 15:20 mark in the second half when Lee Ross forced a turnover and converted a fast break layup to give Grace a 39-37 lead.

The Trojans, however, didn’t go away.

Grace took advantage of a four-minute Taylor scoring drought and built a 47-40 lead with nine minutes to play, but Taylor responded with a 4-0 run to wither Grace’s momentum.

That’s when Elliot Smith drained a pivotal 3-pointer from the left wing to give the Lancers a 50-44 advantage. Taylor never got within four points the remainder of the regulation as Grace built an eight-point lead, their largest of the game.

“I thought we brought good team energy to the game,” Kessler continued. “We are still going hard, and that pleases me. One of the things that shows we are playing with a lot of energy is when we outrebound them.”

The Lancers outrebounded Taylor 36 to 19 and held Taylor to only one offensive rebound.

Grace entered the game as the fifth-best free throw shooting team in NAIA Div. II and backed it up by shooting 85.7 percent (18-of-21). Taylor, who is 15th in the nation from the charity stripe, shot 58.3 percent (7-of-12) from the line.

David Swanson added 13 points and 11 rebounds, his 13th double-double of the year. Swanson is ranked fourth in NAIA Div. II in double-doubles.

Elliot Smith tallied nine points, four assists and four steals while Kyle Plumlee had nine points and three steals. Nick Achille also gave Grace a spark off the bench with seven points on 3-of-6 shooting.

Grace will travel to Spring Arbor, Mich., on Tuesday to play the No. 19 Cougars. The Lancers’ final three games of the season are all against ranked opponents.