NC Indiana News

Lancers complete AZ trip with another win

Grace's men's basketball team completed its trip to Arizona with its second win in as many days.

The Lancers won at Park Gilbert by the score of 85-62 on Wednesday.

Grace registered a major win on Tuesday, beating Arizona Christian by 18. ACU is the new NAIA No. 1-ranked team as of Wednesday afternoon's Top 25 Coaches' Poll. Grace sits at No. 4 in the new poll.

Grace began Wednesday's game at a fast offensive pace, scoring nine points over the first 2:30 of action. The Buccaneers kept pace with a pair of early 3-pointers.

The Lancers remained in front throughout the first half; their first separation came midway into the first half.

Grace used a 17-7 run to open up a 12-point cushion, including back-to-back-to-back triples from Frankie Davidson and Brett Sickafoose.

The lead continued to grow for Grace, resulting in a comfortable 46-29 advantage at halftime. Grace shot 63 percent from the floor compared to Park's 38 percent, and the Lancers also shot 50 percent from the 3-point line.

Cade Gibbs made all five of his field goals for 12 first-half points, and Malone had 11 points.

In the second half, the Lancers pushed their lead over 20. The Buccaneers, however, refused to fade completely.

Park Gilbert managed to trim the Lancers' cushion to 15 with 4:30 remaining, but that was as close as Park would get. Grace countered with a driving dunk by Malone and a 3-pointer from Jakob Gibbs.

The Lancers coasted to the final 23-point margin of victory. Ten players saw at least 13 minutes of action for Grace with no player topping 25 minutes.

Cade Gibbs continued his strong week, earning scoring honors with 19 points on 8 of 9 shooting, including 2 of 2 from beyond the arc. He also added six rebounds and three assists.

Malone shot 7 of 10 for his 15 points, adding five boards, and Davidson had 14 points, 3 boards and 2 assists.

Jake Wadding finished with 10 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, and Brett Sickafoose made all three of his triples for nine points.

Jakob Gibbs tallied 8 points, 3 boards and 3 assists, Ian Scott had 6 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, and Carter Stoltzfus handed out four assists.

Grace finished the game shooting 64 percent overall, 53 percent on 3-pointers and 86 percent from the free throw line. Park Gilbert was held to 43 percent, 12 percent and 57 percent comparatively.

The Lancers have one more game remaining this month. Grace will host Great Lakes Christian on Dec. 30 at 2 p.m. It will be a doubleheader with Grace's women's team to tip off at noon at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.

Original source can be found here.