Karl Columbus looks to attack for Grace College Saturday. The former South Bend Riley star scored 11 points as the Lancers beat Taylor in their regular-season finale (Photo provided by Grace College Sports Information Department)

WINONA LAKE – The Grace College men’s basketball team ended the 2012-13 regular season by winning its third straight contest Saturday to head into next week’s Crossroads League Tournament as the No. 2 seed.

Bruce Grimm Jr. led all players with 22 points to lift the Lancers to a 69-63 victory over No. 25 Taylor on Grace’s Senior Day.

The Lancers (21-8; 13-5 Crossroads League) will host seventh-seeded Marian University on Wednesday at 7 p.m. With a win over Marian, Grace will host the winner of Bethel/Saint Francis in the tournament semifinals next Saturday. The tournament championship will be played Feb. 26 with the champion earning an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships.

Grace split the regular-season series versus first-round foe Marian, who is 16-12. The Lancers won 59-54 at home in overtime on Jan. 15 and then lost 61-59 at Marian on Feb. 5.

Grace recorded its third straight game with six or fewer turnovers. Against Taylor, they shot 50 percent or better from the floor each half.

The first half was a classic Crossroads League battle as the teams traded small leads.

Grace erased a 12-9 deficit with an 11-2 spurt thanks to a pair of 3-pointers from Elliot Smith.

The Lancers’ defense held Taylor to 32 percent shooting in the first half. The Trojans (19-11; 11-7 CL) found a way to score from the free throw line, however.

Taylor made 14-of-16 from the charity stripe before halftime. Over the final 9:26 of the first half, Taylor made just three field goals but sank 10 free throws.

Grace’s offense, on the other hand, was fluid with a 54 percent shooting clip in the first half. Grimm led all players with 13 points as the Lancers were up 34-33 at the half.

The Lancers stayed ahead of the Trojans for the duration of the second half, but they never led by more than nine points.

With 2:03 to play the Lancers led 60-57, but the Trojans were at the free throw line for a bonus attempt. Taylor missed the front-end of the 1-and-1, and Greg Miller scored quickly to put the Lancers ahead by five.

The Trojans were again fouled but made 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to make the score 62-58 with 1:23 remaining.

Karl Columbus then put the game out of reach back-to-back buckets, the last of which was a fastbreak layup aided by a steal by Miller. After Columbus’s burst, the Lancers were ahead by eight points with 49 seconds to play.

Columbus scored nine of his 11 points after halftime. He finished 5-of-6 from the floor.

Grimm’s 22 points came with a team-best five assists and a steal. Miller tallied eight points and six rebounds, and Smith scored 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting from the 3-point line.

Dennis Williams contributed five points, seven rebounds and two assists, and Kyle Fillman added four points, three rebounds and two blocks off the bench.

Grace’s senior class of Grimm, Smith, Tannan Peters and Lee Ross were honored on Saturday. The foursome has led the Lancers to back-to-back berths to NAIA Nationals and is on the cusp of a third straight appearance.