Basketball Results: Jan. 18
TRINITY BOYS 51, LAKELAND CHRISTIAN 32
Trinity sealed up the Hoosier Plains Conference championship with a romp of LCA Saturday afternoon.
Trinity used 14 points from Mike Florin, 12 points from David Loughran and 11 points from Peter Loughran to finish 4-0 in the conference round robin. The Titans held the Cougars (0-1 HPC) to just three points in the first quarter and then scored 21 points of its own in the second quarter to get on its way.
Cam Shepherd hit a trio of three-pointers to finish with 11 points to lead the Cougars. Seth Martin had nine points and four rebounds and Peter Koller had seven points.
ELKHART MEMORIAL GIRLS 54, WAWASEE 39
Wawasee had three in double figures in scoring, but couldn’t keep Memorial from pulling away for a Northern Lakes Conference win Saturday afternoon in Elkhart.
Kennedy White had her first career double-double, recording 13 points, 10 rebounds and adding a pair of steals. Danielle Jenkins had 10 points, three steals and two assists, and Jada Carter finished with 11 points.
Wawasee couldn’t slow down Mya Reeves, who scored a game-high 22 points, while Madison Axsom had 14 points.
Wawasee’s JV held Memorial to just three total field goals made in a 24-9 win. Lindsay Doss led the Warriors with seven points, eight rebounds and five steals. Amari Peete came in with seven steals to go with four points.
NORTHWOOD GIRLS 46, NORTHRIDGE 45
NorthWood rallied from an eight-point deficit to claim at least a share of the Northern Lakes Conference championship Saturday night at Ridge.
NorthWood stormed back in the fourth quarter, scoring 22 points to nearly double what it put forth in the first three quarters. Alea Minnich scored nine of her 11 points in the fourth. The Panthers were 13-15 from the free throw line in the final stanza, and 19-26 overall from the line.
Maddy Payne scored 15 points to lead the Panthers and Kate Rulli came in with 10 points.
Juliana Weaver led the Raiders with 11 points and five rebounds, Maddy Wienert had 13 points and Makena Knepp added 10 points.
The win also gave Panther coach Adam Yoder his 100th on the bench.
Northridge won the JV contest 40-10.
NorthWood will visit Marian Tuesday then host Goshen Saturday night, the matchup with the RedHawks the chance for the Panthers to run undefeated in the NLC for the first time since 2014-15, Yoder’s first season with NorthWood.
WARSAW GIRLS 42, GOSHEN 28
A big night from Warsaw post Abby Sanner helped coach Lenny Krebs defeat his old program.
Krebs, who coached Goshen for 14 seasons, saw Sanner collect 10 points and 14 rebounds. Brielle Harrison had 11 points and four rebounds and Kensie Ryman chipped in five points, three rebounds and three assists.
The Warsaw JV managed a 46-32 win against the RedHawks. Lauren Grose took the lead for Warsaw with 11 points and Marin Hart tossed in nine points.
Warsaw keeps its NLC hopes alive with the win, moving to 5-1 overall. It will have to beat Concord next weekend and NorthWood will have to lose at home to Goshen for the Panthers and Tigers to split.
MT. VERNON MEN 102, GRACE 101
Grace’s first game this season as a ranked team was a barnburner.
The No. 18 Lancers and No. 6 Mt. Vernon Nazarene combined to score 203 points in regulation, separated by just one point. The Cougars came out on top 102-101 in a memorable Crossroads League contest.
Grace had three 20-point scorers in the loss. Charlie Warner poured in 28 points, Jaret Sons netted a career-high 27, and Haden Deaton added 24 points in defeat.
The Cougars could not be stopped at the start of Saturday’s game. MVNU scored on its first nine possessions of the contest, opening up a 22-7 advantage after just five minutes.
Grace did its best to play catch-up, hitting 3-pointers on three straight possessions courtesy of Warner, Hank Smith and Sons.
But the Cougars’ offense still refused to slow down. With less than six minutes remaining, Grace found itself in a 50-33 hole.
The Lancers (13-7, 5-3 CL) made a stand to close the half, however. The Cougars (17-3, 5-3 CL) scored just four more points for the rest of the half, allowing Grace to close the gap.
Grace poured in 15 points over the final five minutes, sparked by five points apiece from Warner and Sons.
By halftime, Grace trailed 54-48 but seemed to have momentum after nearly erasing its deficit.
Grace shot 48 percent as a team in the half, but the Cougars were even better at 63 percent.
MVNU hit 11 triples before halftime at a 61-percent clip. Sons’s 15 points led Grace in the half.
It did not take the Lancers long to take the lead. Grace started the second half on a 12-5 run thanks to eight points from Warner.
A 3-pointer from Warner put Grace on top 60-59, the Lancers’ first lead since the score was 3-2.
Grace led by as many as five in the early stages of the second half, but the Cougars were far from finished.
MVNU went on a 15-5 run to grab a seven-point cushion and force a timeout from Grace.
Grace was not fazed, however, battling back and tying the score at 83-83 after a tough inside layup from Deaton with six minutes to play.
The Cougars would not relinquish their lead down the stretch, although the game went down to the wire.
On numerous occasions Grace trailed by just two or three. But each time the Cougars had an answer on offense, typically in the paint.
Myles Johnson was a force down the stretch for Grace, scoring six points in the final minutes to keep the Lancers in striking distance.
Grace had the ball with 43 seconds remaining, trailing by three. But a triple at the top of the key misfired.
Deaton and Sons made the end interesting with 3-pointers in the final 10 seconds. But the Cougars hit 4-of-4 on free throws over the final minute, and time ran out on the Lancers.
Both teams shot over 50 percent from the floor and over 50 beyond on 3-pointers. In an efficient offensive display, the teams each committed six or fewer turnovers.
Sons’s 27 points came with five 3-pointers, adding seven boards and five assists. Warner shot 5-of-7 from beyond the arc for his 28 points.
Smith drilled 4-of-6 from beyond the arc for 12 points off the bench, and Johnson added 10 points, 7 boards and 1 block. Braxton Linville amassed 11 assists in 19 minutes, and Matt Jennings handed out five assists.
The Lancers return home on Tuesday. Grace welcomes No. 2 Indiana Wesleyan to the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center at 7 p.m. The game will mark the sixth straight Top-25 opponent that Grace will play, nearing the end of seven consecutive ranked matchups.
GRACE WOMEN 74, MT. VERNON 72
Grace’s women’s basketball team notched a crucial road win on Saturday, defeating Mt. Vernon Nazarene 74-72.
Kyannah Stull paced the offense with 24 points, including four 3-pointers.
The defense forced 20 turnovers, and every Lady Lancer in the game recorded a steal.
Kaylie Warble kicked off the scoring for the Lady Lancers, sinking two free throws. The Cougars, who are receiving votes in the NAIA poll, held Grace scoreless for the next two minutes, going on a 7-2 run.
A bucket from Stull and a takeaway by Lexi Minix sparked some offense for Grace.
Despite forcing five turnovers over a span of two minutes, the Lady Lancers (14-6, 5-3 Crossroads League) trailed most of the first quarter.
Stull buried a triple to secure Grace’s first lead of the game, and Kamryn Hostetler followed suit by netting a deep 3-pointer with seconds remaining in the first quarter. Grace held a slim 25-21 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Cougars (13-7, 3-5 CL) began the second quarter with intensity, but Grace countered that early charge.
Maddie Ryman had an excellent fastbreak finish to complement a nifty pass from Stull.
MVNU took the lead, but not for long as Micaela Box scored on back-to-back possessions to retake the lead.
In a frenzied final possession that included a block by Brooke Treadway, the Cougars found a late bucket to take the lead heading into the half, 41-39.
Stull paced Grace’s offense with 14 points at the break. Hostetler and Drake had seven apiece.
The Cougars shot 60 percent on 3-pointers in the first half, compared to just 39 percent for Grace.
The Lady Lancers were a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line.
Picking up right where she left off, Stull drained a trey on the first possession of the second half.
A few possessions later, Hostetler also connected from three. The teams continued to trade blows.
A transition 3-pointer from Hostetler and buckets from Vironnica Drake and Ryman ended the quarter with Grace trailing 61-57.
Despite scoring early in the quarter, the Lady Lancers found themselves down by six with seven minutes remaining in the game.
A clever backdoor pass from Box led to an and-1 opportunity for Drake, which she converted.
On the next possession, Warble grabbed an offensive board and laid it in to give Grace the lead. Box added a bucket to extend the lead to 71-68 with 2:35 remaining in the game.
Despite Grace’s strong defensive effort, MVNU scored twice to take a one-point lead with 1:22 left.
Grace was unable to convert on the next possession, but a steal by Hostetler gave Grace the window of opportunity they needed.
Drake drove hard to the basket and drew a foul. She calmly sank both free throws to give the Lady Lancers the edge, 73-72.
The defense held firm as the Cougars had two offensive possessions to score the go-ahead basket. The first ended with a steal from Warble, which led to a free throw from Stull to secure the final score of 74-72.
Although the Cougars had the ball in the final seconds, Grace’s fullcourt press locked up the victory.
Drake scored 16 points and added seven rebounds. Minix stuffed the stat sheet with 6 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 points.
Hostetler scored 13 points and blocked a shot, while also hitting 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
Grace shot an identical 39 percent from the floor and from the 3-point line. The Lady Lancers were 15-of-16 from the charity stripe.
The Lady Lancers will host Indiana Wesleyan at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center on Wednesday at 7 p.m.