Grace College’s Brandon Vanderhegghen drives against Indiana-East Saturday night in the Terry Polston Tourney. (Photo provided by the Grace College Sports Information Department)

WINONA LAKE – Logan Irwin’s Tournament MVP effort led Grace’s men’s basketball to a 72-60 victory over IU-East on Saturday in the title game of the Bennigan’s Terry Polston Hoops for Hope.

The Lancers (8-1) used staunch defense to knock off the athletic Red Wolves (8-2), who are receiving votes in the NAIA Preseason Coaches’ Poll along with Grace.

Irwin poured in 20 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds to spearhead Grace’s performance.

In addition to Irwin being the Tournament MVP, Brandon Vanderhegghen was named All-Tournament Team and Niko Read was the Hoppus Mental Attitude winner.

In the opening half, Grace ripped off 10 unanswered points at the midway point. Vanderhegghen buried two 3-pointers during the run, turning a five-point deficit into a five-point lead with 6:41 left in the half.

The Lancers went on top 34-26 at the break led by eight first-half points from Vanderhegghen.

A layup from Dennis Williams gave Grace a 12-point lead at 47-35 with 13:05 remaining in the game, but IU-East was about to make its final push.

The Red Wolves ran off nine straight points to slice Grace’s margin to three with 10 minutes to play. The Lancers countered with a 13-2 run of their own, regaining a double-digit lead that would not dissolve.

Williams finished with 12 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks, and Vanderhegghen had 11 points, 4 boards and 4 steals. Kyle Fillman and Read tallied nine points apiece, and Chad Hoffer scored five points off the bench.

As a team Grace had 12 assists on nine turnovers. After struggling to shoot 31 percent in the first half, the Lancers hit 54 percent over the final 20 minutes. Grace also improved dramatically from the free throw line, going from 50 percent in the first half and 82 percent in the second half.

The Lancers kick off the Crossroads League season on Tuesday with a home game against Taylor at 7 p.m.