Grace College guard Braxton Linville had six points Tuesday night. The former NorthWood star led the Lancers with four assists (Photo by Scott Davidson)

WINONA LAKE – The Grace College men’s basketball team was unable to pick up a win in its Crossroads League opener, falling 87-68 on Tuesday night to No. 6 Indiana Wesleyan.

The Lancers (5-4, 0-1 CL) fell behind by 20 in the first half to IWU and never recovered. Grace outscored IWU in the second half, but the damage was already done.

The Wildcats (7-1, 1-0 CL) shot 53 percent for the game, including a sizzling 64-percent performance before halftime.

Grace and IWU battled closely in the opening nine minutes as a pair of free throws from Matt Jennings tied the game 17-17.

But the Wildcats unleashed a 21-4 run over the next six minutes which changed the game for good. Eight of IWU’s points in that run came after Grace turnovers, allowing the Wildcats to grab a commanding 38-21 lead.

The Wildcats eventually pulled ahead by 23 until a late triple from Jaret Sons made the score 52-32 at halftime. Sons was one of the few offensive bright spots late in the half for the Lancers, making four 3-pointers for 12 points before halftime.

Grace showed resolve by fighting back in the second half. A triple from Haden Deaton started a 13-0 run for the Lancers, chopping the Wildcats’ cushion down to 10 at 59-49 with 12:50 remaining. Logan Godfrey and Matt Jennings had four points apiece in Grace’s surge.

But the Wildcats refused to let Grace get closer. IWU gradually tacked onto its lead en route to a comfortable 19-point win.

Sons was Grace’s leading scorer with 12 points to go along with four rebounds, and Matt Jennings was the other Lancer in double-digit scoring with 11.

Deaton tallied 9 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists while going a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc, Godfrey had eight points and nine rebounds, and Martin Schiele scored eight points in 16 minutes.

Erik Bowen produced 6 points, 4 boards and 4 steals, and former NorthWood standout Braxton Linville added 6 points, 4 assists and 4 rebounds.

The Lancers turned the ball over 19 times while shooting just 34 percent from the floor. 

IWU freshman Kyle Mangas poured in a game-high 29 points. The former star guard from Warsaw hit 12-18 shots from the field, including 5-9 from distance in the win.

Grace will have a week off before continuing league play on Nov. 28 at Mt. Vernon Nazarene.