College News update 12/31

Tons of Turnovers Topple Chargers

PLYMOUTH, INDIANA – Although they showed many stokes of brilliance, the Ancilla women’s basketball team also showed their Christmas break rust in an 80-68 loss to non-conference foe Sinclair Community College (8-2).
Ancilla (3-6, 1-0 MCCAA) kept themselves in the game, especially in the first half, by shooting lights out from the field. The Lady Chargers were 13-26 from the field in the first half and although they committed 16 turnovers in the same time period, they went into the locker room trailing by just seven at 39-32.
The Lady Chargers finished the game with a more than respectable 45.8% shooting from the field (27-59) and kept pace with Sinclair (31-63, 49.2%). The difference in the game was turnovers. Sinclair committed just 16 for the game, while Ancilla finished with 34.
Shalana Murray pulled down a tremendous double-double performance for Ancilla, scoring 14 points and grabbing 18 rebounds. Her 10 offensive rebounds tie a school record for offensivegame.
Grimm erupted in the first half for Grace with 19 points and four three-pointers. He finished 7 of 14 from the field, 8 of 9 from the free throw line, and also recorded four rebounds and four steals. Henry was equally lethal for the Lancers with 12 of his 15 points in the first half.
Grace recorded the same amount of assists as Warner (13) but committed 17 turnovers compared to eight for the Royals. The Lancers nailed 9 of their 20 attempts from beyond the arc. It was the fourth time Grace has hit four three's, although the previous three resulted in victories for the Lancers.
Tannan Peters was the leading rebounder in the game with 10 as the Lancers outrebounded the Royals 32-27.

Crusader Women Close 2010 with Win at Eastern Illinois

Valparaiso closed out the non-conference portion of the schedule on Thursday evening with a 65-58 road victory over defending Ohio Valley Conference champion Eastern Illinois at Lantz Arena in Charleston, Ill.

Betsy Adams (Monticello, Ind./Twin Lakes H.S.) scored 20 points and Tabitha Gerardot (Fort Wayne, Ind./Canterbury H.S.) registered a double-double as the Crusader overcame 25 turnovers to earn the road win over a Panther team that entered the game 37-4 at home over since the midway point of the 2007-2008 season.

“We didn’t handle the ball like we wanted to which is something we need to get better at,” head coach Keith Freeman said. “That said, I did see improvement in our rebounding, defense, and the way we competed though which is a big positive and helped us get a big win on the road.”

Valpo took an early 11-7 lead as the Panthers connected on just two of their first 12 shots from the floor, and maintained its advantage throughout most of the first half. Ten Crusader turnovers in the first 13 minutes though limited the lead to just two, 17-15 with seven minutes to play.

An 8-0 Crusader run capped by a Kelly Watts (Gary, Ind./East Chicago Central H.S.) lay-in at the 4:11 mark gave Valpo a 23-15 lead. Eastern Illinois answered with five straight points to pull within three.

A Laura Richards (Connersville, Ind./Connersville H.S.) triple with just under a minute to play followed by an Adams three at the buzzer gave Valpo a 31-22 advantage at the break.

Adams had 10 first half points while Gina Lange (Wyoming, Minn./Forest Lake H.S.) pulled down seven boards in the opening stanza. The Crusaders outrebounded the Panthers 24-16 in the first 20 minutes, while holding Eastern Illinois to just 27.6% shooting.

The Panthers cut into the second half from the beginning, scoring the first seven points out of the locker room. Four Crusader turnovers led to 10 Eastern Illinois points as the Panthers tied the game at 39 at the 13:53 mark, and one possession leader the hosts had the lead on a lay-in by Ta’Kenya Nixon.

The lead then changed hands eight times and was tied four more times as neither team could build an advantage of more than three points heading into the game’s final eight minutes.

A Rashida Ray (Fort Wayne, Ind./Harding H.S.) jumper as the shot clock was winding down gave Valpo the lead for good at the 7:25 mark, starting an 8-0 Crusader spurt. The Brown and Gold’s defense held Eastern Illinois scoreless for 4:35 while building the 60-52 lead.

The Crusaders held a 62-57 lead with 2:49 to play when Ray was fouled shooting a three-pointer, and connected on all three from the charity stripe. Valpo would not score the rest of the way, but allowed just one free throw on the way to earning the road win.

Adams led all scorers with her 20 points while Gerardot had 11 points and 10 rebounds for her double-double.

“Betsy Adams hits some big shots for us,” Freeman added. “We got some big contributions from lots of people in lots of areas tonight.”

Lange also had 10 boards while Watts had seven more to go along with seven points as Valpo outrebounded Eastern Illinois 44-29 on the night. Richards had eight points while Ray finished the night with seven as well.

“I think Watts helps us on the defensive end with her physicalness,” Freeman commented. “It will take time for her to get back to her old self though, but she gave us seven points and seven boards off of the bench. She has changed practice for us because she is more physical.”

Nixon led Eastern Illinois (6-7) with 16 points and eight rebounds while Chantelle Pressley added 12 points and seven boards.

“We saw a lot of improvement tonight,” Freeman concluded. “The big key for us to work on is to cut down on turnovers. They outscored us 26-8 on points off of turnovers.”

Valparaiso (3-9) will continue its four-game road trip on Sunday afternoon, heading to Indianapolis, Ind. to open Horizon League play. The Crusaders will face rival Butler with tip-off set for 1 p.m. CST from Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Game Notes: Watts played 17 minutes in her first appearance of the season … Gerardot’s double-double was her fifth of the season … Lange tallied double figures in rebounding for the second time in her career, finishing just one off of her career high of 11 … the Crusaders shot 42.3% from the floor for the game … Valpo leads the all-time series 7-4 and has wos down the stretch and got buckets from Thomas and Dee Brown late to seal the victory.

Thomas posted his second double-double of the season and fifth of his career, finishing with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Jordon Crawford added 10 points, while Black and Brown had eight apiece.

Bowling Green held UTSA to a season-low 59 points and forced 20 turnovers, the team’s second-most on the year. The Falcons had 12 steals, getting three each from McElroy and Brown.

The Falcons shot 61 percent from the floor in the second half and finished the game at 51 percent (27-of-53). Bowling Green’s biggest weakness came at the free-throw line where the Falcons made just 12-of-24.

After falling behind 9-2 early, Bowling Green battled back to tie the score at 16-16 and eventually took a 30-27 lead into the break. The Falcons used a 12-1 run early in the second half to build a 44-30 lead before UTSA stormed back over the next six minutes

LEBANON, Tenn. -- Indiana Wesleyan University women's basketball never trailed Thursday night in a 57-42 victory over host Cumberland (Tenn.) University in the Rosa Stokes Classic in Lebanon, Tennessee.
The Wildcats raced out to a 16-2 advantage to open the contest and improved to 13-2 on the season.
All five Indiana Wesleyan starters scored during the 16-2 run to start the game which lasted five and a half minutes. The IWU lead peaked at 14 points in the opening half and would reach that plateau three more times in the half.
The final 14 point lead in the first half came at 5:17 remaining before halftime when senior forward Elaine Hessel scored in the paint to increase the Wildcat lead to 25-11.
But the Bulldogs were able to trim the deficit to single digits before the half. The Bulldogs connected on three field goals in the final three and a half minutes of the period to close the gap to eight at 25-17.
Cumberland (7-4) continued to reel in Indiana Wesleyan at the start of the second half. Four minutes into the second half, Cumberland clawed back and trailed by three at 32-29.
Senior forward LeAnn Douglas, junior guard Stephanie Burtch and junior center Krystal Stoneking scored the next three baskets in the game as Indiana Wesleyan increased the lead to 38-29. The lead grew to 13 points at 46-33 with 9:02 remaining as the total run culminated at 14-4.
Indiana Wesleyan continued to pull away late in the second half and extended the lead to a game-high 17 points at 53-36 with 5:23 left to play. IWU led by double figures the rest of the way before settling for the 57-42 win.
The Wildcats shot well at the field, finishing at 56.1-percent (23 of 41) from the floor and 55.6-percent (5 of 9) from 3-point range. The defense for IWU was just as effective Thursday, forcing the Bulldogs into 31.9-percent (15 of 47) shooting.
Hessel and Cumberland guard Casie Cowan led all players in scoring with 15 points apiece. Hessel finished 6-of-8 from the field while also pulling down a game-high seven rebounds. Senior guard Kayla Thompson added 10 points and three assists while Stoneking scored nine points


IUPUI POWERS PAST WESTERN ILLINOIS, 70-55


INDIANAPOLIS – IUPUI manhandled The Summit League’s top defensive team on Thursday night, muscling out to a 24-point lead before hanging on for a 70-55 win over the short-handed Western Illinois Leathernecks in The Jungle. Junior Alex Young led all scorers with 21 points and Stephen Thomas matched his career-high with 16 in the win.

IUPUI (8-8, 2-1 Summit) ran its current winning streak to a season-best three-in-a-row as the calendar shifts from 2010 to 2011. Western Illinois came in allowing a league-low 59.2 points per game, yet IUPUI’s 70 points were just two shy of the most allowed by the Leathernecks this season.

“This was a good win for us. We’ve played a lot of really good defensive teams this year, so we’re getting more comfortable offensively,” IUPUI Head Coach Ron Hunter said. “It helps when you’ve got a guy like Alex Young on your roster, but we wanted to jump on them early and land the first blow. That’s what we talked about was getting ahead early and making them have to play from behind. If they get in front of you and make you grind it out, you’re in for a dogfight.

“This was a really good way to end the year – by getting back to .500 and getting a big time win.”

IUPUI shot 50 percent from the floor and outrebounded Western Illinois (5-7, 1-2) 38-23 in the victory.

After the game was tied at 6-6 early, IUPUI unloaded a 14-2 run by holding Western without a field goal for nearly seven minutes. Young keyed the burst with two layups and a breakaway dunk and John Ashworth capped it with a three in transition off a Thomas assist. The Leathernecks got back within seven at 22-15 with 8:59 left when Jelani Johnson buried a three, but IUPUI kept the heat on and pushed its lead out to 41-25 by halftime.

Seemingly every first half break went the way of the Jaguars including a wild tip of a loose ball by Donovan Gibbs, that happened to rattle in the basket midway through the stanza. On the half’s final possession, IUPUI was late in setting up its offense, but Ashworth made it work when he buried a 24-footer as time expired. The 16-point margin was IUPUI’s largest to that point.

IUPUI went for the knockout punch to start the second half and opened with an 8-0 run in which Thomas played a hand in three of the four baskets. His lob on the opening possession of the second half led to a Young layup and he later added a short jumper and driving hoop to make it 49-25.

Relying on their defense, Western battled back and closed within 11 with 7:46 left when Kaimarr Price hit a sweeping hook across the lane.

However, IUPUI’s rebounding advantage helped the hosts stay in front.

Searching for offensive life, the Jaguars’ next two buckets came courtesy of Christian Siakam tip-ins of teammates misses, making it 61-46 with 6:43 to play. Senior Leroy Nobles finally ended any suspense with a three from the right wing at the 3:43 mark.

Nobles finished with 15 points and four boards in 38 minutes work.

“This was really a total team effort,” Hunter said. “Our first five really did a nice job, but when we went to our bench, we got some production. Donovan gave us some nice minutes and Smooth gave us some more good minutes and we’re going to need that.”

Western, which was playing without three key cogs including All-Summit performer Ceola Clark, got 16 points from Evansville-native Matt Lander and 11 from Tommie Tyler. Price added 10 points, four boards and four assists in 32 minutes.

The Leathernecks shot 46 percent overall and hit 7-of-12 (58.3 percent) from beyond the arc. After hitting 22 threes in the past two games, IUPUI went just 5-of-15 (33.3 percent) from deep on Thursday.

Ashworth was 2-of-6 to account for his six points, but also added six assists and a career-high six steals. Siakam finished with six points and nine boards (six offensive) in just 22 minutes. The Jaguars outscored WIU 16-6 on second chance points.

Young hit 9-of-18 shots and collected eight rebounds and two steals as he inched closer to joining the top 10 on the program’s all-time scoring list. His 1,272 are just 47 shy of tying Brandon Cole for tenth all-time in the scoring column.

The win improved IUPUI to 22-8 all-time against WIU and ran its current winning streak to five straight over the Leathernecks. The Jaguars also climbed back to .500 for the first time since the Dec. 2 win over Centenary.

IUPUI will continue Summit League play on Jan. 6 when it heads to Rochester, Mich. to take on preseason favorite and returning champion Oakland University in a rematch of last year’s championship game. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. from the Athletics Center O’Rena and the game will be televised on Fox Sports Detroit


Lady Pilots Lose Shootout with #11 Cedarville, 94-88


Typical admission prices for NAIA basketball games are $5 for adults and those who were in attendance for Thursday's clash between Bethel and Cedarville certainly got their money's worth. For basketball purists from the Midwest, this one was an offensive extravaganza... by no means a defensive gem, but nonetheless a dazzling show of two talented teams shooting what appeared to be an endless supply of ammunition. For a while, it was like a video game, where misses were rare and the trigger button was stuck on rapid fire. In the end, after all of the dust had settled, NAIA No. 11 Cedarville outlasted the Lady Pilots of Bethel by a score of 94-88.
BC came to play, jumping out to a quick 17-6 lead which included three pointers by Heather Seyfred, Mandy Yoder, Bekah Basinger and Lindsay Rich but Cedarville quickly responded and by the end of the opening half held a 50-46 lead on the heels of an amazing 12 of 18 from behind the arc. Bethel shot 62% from the floor to Cedarville's 60% but 10 Lady Pilot's turnovers, combined with the Yellow Jacket's 12 trifectas found BC behind at the break. Bekah Basinger was brilliant in the opening half, leading the way for Bethel with 16 first half points.
BC again responded quickly after the break and tied the game at 50 just under a minute into the second half. The rest of the game was a see-saw affair and although Cedarville did mount a nine point lead with just over seven minutes remaining, Bethel would not give in and cut the lead to four points with just under two minutes remaining. The Yellow Jackets calmly sank their free throws down the stretch and the Lady Pilots were unable to pull out the victory, despite several shots at the end to make things interesting.
Basinger led the way on the evening, scoring 26 points, including 11-18 from the floor. Mandy Yoder added 22 points and nine assists, while Lindsay Rich scored a career high 16 points and Baysia Cox added 12 points and nine rebounds. The Lady Pilots turned the ball over only once in the second half but cooled off considerably from the floor, hitting only 38% down the stretch.
"This was a very good Cedarville team that we played today and although losing this game is tough, we can take a lot of good things from what we did today and move forward to the MCC schedule ahead of us," said Bethel coach Jody Martinez. "Our goal is to become the best team we can be for the Mid- Central College Conference and today was a step in the right direction. I thought we played 30 minutes of basketball today and once we can get to 40 minutes on the same page, without mental defensive breakdowns, we'll be a difficult team to beat," added Martinez. "We'll find out soon enough, with three MCC games in the next eight days. We look forward to returning home and hopefully we can continue to put the pieces together for a run at another conference title."
The Lady Pilots fall to 9-7 on the season, with four of those losses coming to teams ranked in the top eleven of the NAIA National Poll. The road warriors will return to the Wiekamp Center after a two month hiatus that included 11 straight road games. Bethel will host Goshen College on January 4th at 7:00 pm, followed by another home game with Spring Arbor on January 6th at 7:00 pm

Sir Wade Finegan Lifts Falcons Over Crusaders in Overtime

STORRS, Conn. -- Bowling Green once again found itself with a lead heading into the third period of play, a trend found in six of their last seven games. Though the Falcons relinquished that lead in the final two minutes of regulation, they also found a way to pull out the overtime victory against the Holy Cross Crusaders. Their win awarded the Falcons with a third place finished in the 2010 Toyota UConn Classic.
Wade Finegan (Toronto, Ontatio) proved to be the hero in the evening’s game when he scored the game-winning goal off a faceoff in the Holy Cross zone. With 1:10 left in overtime, Camden Wojtala (Trenton, Mich.) lined up against Shayne Stockton in the faceoff circle where the freshman forward knocked the puck over to Finegan. The senior skated his way around relief goaltender Adam Roy and found an open hole for the game-winning ringer.
The Falcons took a two-goal lead out of the first period with tallies by Marc Rodriguez (Aurora, Ill.) and Ryan Peltoma (Brainerd, Minn.) giving the Falcons a comfortable lead to work with.
Rodriguez notched his sixth goal of the season and the second of the tournament at the 11:29 mark of the first period. His opportunity came after Jordan Samuels-Thomas (South Windsor, Conn.) diked out a Crusader defender and created enough space to put a shot on from the slot. The starting goaltender for Holy Cross, Derek Kump, tossed the puck aside but Rodriguez followed the loose puck and while skating away from the net finished the play by putting the puck into the Holy Cross cage for the 1-0 lead.
Bowling Green doubled its lead nearly seven minutes later when Ryan Peltoma was looking for help out in front of the net and from the top of the far-side faceoff circle lofted the puck toward Kump. Striking the goaltender in the glove-side shoulder, the puck then bounced and fell into the cage giving the Falcons a two goal advantage.
The Falcons only two shots on goal in the first period resulted in goals but their 13 shots on goal in the second period simply added pressure, not scoring. Andrew Hammond kept the lead for the Falcons heading into the third period, though the Crusaders scored once in the second period to cut the lead to one goal. At 15:50 in the second period, Holy Cross defenseman Matt Clune took a cross-ice pass from Everett Sheen to the house and beat Hammond one-on-one from the near-side faceoff circle.
Heading into the third period with a 2-1 score in favor of BGSU, the Crusaders received a flawless third period of goaltending from Adam Roy while adding the game-tying goal with 1:27 remaining in regulation. J.P. Martignetti entered the ice fresh off of a line change and slid in behind the Bowling Green defense to take a pass from teammate Matt Celin before creating another one-on-one offensive opportunity for Holy Cross. Martignetti entered the slot with the puck and with a wrister beat Hammond to tie the game at two.
Bowling Green’s overtime win over Holy Cross was their second overtime win of the season dating back to their victory over Alabama-Huntsville on Oct. 22 at home. The win also marks their first win going back to their opening game of the RPI Holiday Invitational on Nov. 26, again against the Chargers.
Special teams were not a factor as both teams were perfect of the penalty kill and neither scored a power-play goal. Bowling Green held Holy Cross scoreless on four power play chances while coming up empty on two of their own.
Andrew Hammond earned his third win of the season while saving 27-of-29 shots against in the game. Eleven of his saves came in the third period, alone. He improves to 2-8-1 on the season.
Wabash squandered a 17-point first half lead, but held on to improve to 12-0 for the season with a 77-74 win at Franklin College Wednesday evening. Derek Bailey’s two free throws with 11 seconds left in the game and a steal by Brian Shelbourne on the final play of the game secured the road win for the Little Giants.

The Little Giants, ranked eighth in the nation in the latest D3hoops.com poll, exploded offensive to open the game. Wes Smith scored 14 of the first 18 points for Wabash, boosting the Little Giants to an early lead. Ben Burkett scored two of his 12 points with 8:27 left in the opening period to give Wabash a 30-13 lead.
Wabash came into the game as the fifth-best team in the nation defending the three-point shot, but Franklin used the long-range jumper to work its way back into the contest. Three treys by the Grizzlies helped trim the lead to three points. Franklin watched a desperation three rim out just ahead of the first half buzzer, giving Wabash a 38-35 lead.
The Grizzlies eventually took a 45-43 lead early in the second period on a three-pointer by Gunner Erwin. Wabash responded with treys from Aaron Zinnerman and AJ Sutherlin to eventually take a one-point lead midway through the period. Bailey Howard kept the Grizzlies close by scoring 10 of his team-high 22
points in feat on Wednesday night as Indiana Wesleyan University men's basketball collected a huge 84-81 double overtime victory over NAIA Division I No. 6-ranked Westminster (Utah) College.
"This is one of the biggest wins in program history. Not counting postseason games, this may be the best win during the non-conference season," said Indiana Wesleyan head coach Greg Tonagel. "We may not face a better team all season."
Westminster boasts Michael Stockton, the son of NBA Hall of Famer John Stockton, and an 11-1 record entering play on Wednesday night. The only loss this season for Westminster came at Azusa Pacific (Calif.) University, the 2009-10 NAIA Division I national runner up.
The 10th consecutive victory would come in the final game of the 2010 Grand Canyon Classic for the Wildcats. The 2009-10 squad won a program best 14 games a year ago for the all-time record.
The wild contest began in even stranger circumstances, a rain delay…in the desert of Phoenix.
Following the lengthy delay to hang buckets that would catch rain water from the leaking roof, Indiana Wesleyan, ranked No. 12 in NAIA Division II, took it to Westminster. A jumper by sophomore guard George Jones IV at 17:37 gave IWU a 5-4 lead, an advantage held by Indiana Wesleyan for the next 33:39 of the game.
The Wildcats held double digit leads in the first half including 11 point leads on two occasions. The opening 20 minutes came to a close with a 30-21 Wildcat lead as IWU limited the Griffins to just 25.0-percent (8 of 32) shooting.
In the opening two minutes of the second half, Westminster trimmed the deficit to five points on two occasions. But Indiana Wesleyan was able to regroup and build the advantage back to double digits and earned a game-best 12 point lead at 55-43 with 10:32 left in regulation.
But Indiana Wesleyan (13-3) went ice cold on the offensive end as Westminster totaled 14 unanswered points to gain a 57-55 lead with 3:58 to play.
Sophomore forward Patrick Hopkins drilled a pair of free throws to tie the game at 3:10 for the first IWU points in over seven minutes.
Stockton gave the Griffins the lead again with a field goal at 1:43 but Hopkins answered for the Wildcats with a layup at 1:15 for a 59-59 tie and the first IWU field goal in more than nine minutes of action.
Back on the other side of the floor, Westminster scored to regain the advantage but once against Indiana Wesleyan countered as Hopkins scored to tie the game at 61-61. Westminster could hold the ball for the last shot but IWU forced a turnover and had a crack at the winning shot. Troyer missed a pair of attempts and Westminster heaved a shot all the way down court that just happened to hit one of the full buckets of water to send the game into overtime in style…and into a short delay to mop up the water.
In the overtime period, Indiana Wesleyan raced out to an 8-2 run to lead 69-63 with 2:14 on the clock. But Stockton scored the next five points in 53 seconds to cut the lead to 69-68 with 1:21 remaining. IWU held another one point lead with 16 seconds left when freshman guard Jordan Weidner hit two free throws for a 73-70 lead. But Stockton drove the lane and found a wide open Jake Orchard in the corner who buried the tying 3-point basket which sent the game into another overtime at 73-73.
Indiana Wesleyan once again created a six point cushion in overtime at 80-74 with 2:09 left. For a second straight OT, Westminster quickly closed the gap to one at 80-79 with 1:16 left to play. Westminster's attempt to capture the lead was thwarted as sophomore guard Aaron Martin gained the rebound and was fouled with 17 seconds left. He hit one of two free throws for an 81-79 lead.
Orchard launched a three for the lead but missed and senior forward Will Hubertz collected the big rebound for Indiana Wesleyan with nine seconds left. Hubertz hit both free throws for the 83-79 lead as the Wildcats hung on for the 84-80 win.
"We've challenged our guys about being tough," added Tonagel. "And tonight they answered the bell."
Hopkins recorded his third straight double-double and seventh of the season as he t rebounds, nearly becoming the first player in program history to record double-digits in three separate offensive categories. Stephanie Rosado finished the game with eight points, while Erin Murphy and Chelsey Jackson each scored seven off of the bench. Rosado added seven rebounds, while Jackson had three assists and Kayla Drake three steals.

IPFW's 44 three-point attempts sets a new single-game Summit League record, breaking the previous mark of 42, held by Troy (against Auburn on January 31, 1996) and Oral Roberts (against UMKC on December 7, 2009). The 17 three-point makes are the third most in league single-game history, behind only a pair of Oral Roberts' 18-three-point make games a season ago. The marks also stand as the second-most makes, and the third-most attempts in program history.

Boese's 17 three-point attempts ties the single-game school record held by Zuppe, Jamie Holderman, and Lindy Jones, while the seven makes ties for fourth most in a game in school history, behind a trio of games by Holderman.

IPFW jumped out quickly with a three-pointer by Rosado 30 seconds into the game, and led by as many as four at 9-5 following a Zuppe three-pointer three minutes off of the clock. Oral Roberts proceeded to run off the next 10 points, turning the four-point deficit into a six-point lead over the next three minutes.

The Mastodons closed to within a pair at 17-15 following a Boese long-range jumper with just over 13 minutes to play in the opening half, but that would be as close as IPFW would get the rest of the way. The first-half IPFW deficit grew to as many as 14 with 1:12 before halftime, before a pair of Murphy free throws closed the gap to a dozen heading into the locker room at halftime.

A Zuppe three-pointer to open the half closed the gap to nine, and the margin remained at nine through the 14:19 mark of the final period, with IPFW trailing 59-50 before ORU went on a 13-3 run to push the Golden Eagle lead to its high-water mark of 19 at 72-53.

With ORU ahead by 19 at 82-63 with 5:32 left in the game, the Mastodons scored the next 12 points to close the gap to seven at 82-75 with 1:33 remaining on the clock. With IPFW forced to foul, Oral Roberts iced the game by making seven-of-eight free throws down the stretch to hold on for the 91-78 victory.

IPFW made 25-of-68 shots from the field overall, 8-of-24 on shots inside of the three-point arc, and was nearly perfect from the charity stripe, making 11-of-12 shots from the free throw line. IPFW dished out a season-high-tying 21 assists, against just 19 turnovers, the fifth time this season the 'Dons have had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio for a game, and just the second time in a loss.

Oral Roberts was led by Jaci Bigham who scored 33 points on 9-of-18 shooting from the field and 5-of-9 from long range. Jordan Pyle scored 16, while the Conference's leading scorer Kevi Luper put in 14 while adding seven rebounds and a game-high five steals, all in the first half.

GRACE SETTLES FOR FOURTH IN HOLIDAY TOURNEY

CHICAGO, Ill. – Grace got off to a slow start in their 66-55 loss against the University of Saint Francis (Ill.) at the SXU Holiday Tournament on Wednesday.

The Lady Lancers (10-5) staggered out of the gate and only scored four points in the first 11 minutes of play to trail 27-17 at the break.

“We just didn’t show up in the first half,” said head coach Scott Blum. “We didn’t play aggressive and took bad shots. Our tough game last night took a lot out of us, and we were playing short-handed.”

The Fighting Saints (7-10) exploded at the start of the second period and mounted a 14-4 run in the first five minutes to build a 20-point lead. They held a comfortable lead over Grace for the next 10 minutes before the Lady Lancers closed the game on a 15-8 run to make the final score more respectable.

“The second half, we got down by 20 points early but tried to make a run at the end,” Blum continued. “We started playing hard and just ran out of steam. It was a tough loss last night, and we just struggled to bounce back.”

Grace had 24 turnovers, eight more than Saint Francis. The Fighting Saints also outscored Grace from the charity stripe 17-6 and attempted 15 more free throws.

Hayley Cashier led the Lady Lancers with 14 points and 14 rebounds, her fourth double-double of the year. Autumn Heflin added 10 points on 4 of 7 shooting, and Emily Bidwell also chipped in 10 points and grabbed six boards.

LANCERS SLIP AGAINST NO. 19 DAVENPORT

LAKE WALES, Fla. – In their third straight top-25 showdown, No. 17 Grace fell to No. 19 Davenport 74-71 at the Warner Holiday Tournament on Wednesday.

The Lancers (10-4) had a seven-point lead midway through the second half, they’re largest of the game, but yielded a 13-0 Davenport run to fall behind 62-56 and never regain the lead.

Elliot Smith hit two clutch 3-pointers in a row to tie the game 66-66 with two minutes remaining, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Panthers (13-3). Davenport scored four points in a row and eventually solidified their victory at the charity stripe.

“We will learn from these losses,” said head coach Jim Kessler. “Playing against quality teams like Davenport will help prepare us for the heart of our conference season. We need to bounce back and get ourselves a victory tomorrow.”

Grace outrebounded Davenport 33-28 and outshot them 50 percent to 29 percent from beyond the arc but allowed the Panthers’ Nathan Cox to tally 19 points in 15 minutes of play. Davenport won the turnover battle 16-11.

Dayton Merrell led the Lancers with 14 points on 5 of 9 shooting. He also grabbed seven boards and totaled three assists. Tannan Peters and Elliot Smith chipped in 10 points. Greg Miller, Bruce Grimm Jr., and Duke Johnson tallied nine apiece off of the bench.

Johnson played 29 minutes, his first action since his ankle injury against Marian University on Dec. 4.

Offense Soars, Trojans Advance

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – Casey Coons (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Central) and Drew Tower (New Castle/New Castle) notched career-highs to propel the Trojans past Heidelberg, 81-65, in the opening round of the Charles B. Zimmerman Classic at Wittenberg University on Wednesday afternoon. Taylor (11-4) advances to the championship game on Thursday.

Coons registered 31 points and Tower added 16 for the Trojans, who shot 63.3 percent from the field and a perfect 13-for-13 at the free throw line. Jake Burkholder fouled out late in the game, but not before grabbing a game-high seven rebounds. Coons added to his impressive stat line with five assists.

Eight days removed from a 73-63 loss to Cedarville in which the Trojans shot a dismal 2 of 18 from 3-point range and shot just over 40 percent from the field, Taylor bounced back by shooting 46.2 percent (6 of 13) from long range against Heidelberg. Tower led the way with four 3-pointers on five attempts.

Tommy Peller chipped in with 12 points and Burkholder added 10 to give the Trojans four in double figures for the seventh time this season.

The first three minutes belonged to Heidelberg as it grabbed an early 7-2 advantage, which turned out to be its largest lead of the afternoon. Seven tie scores later, the Trojans took over the lead for good at 26-25 on a layup by Burkholder. The Trojans pushed their lead to 37-31 at the halftime intermission led by 16 points from Coons.

A 3-pointer by Coons with 5:18 left extended Taylor’s lead to its largest of the night at 75-53 before Heidelberg closed out the game on a 12-6 run.

In seven attempts at the free throw line, another perfect performance improved Coons’ efficiency at the charity stripe to third in NAIA D-II at 91.5 percent.

Heidelberg (4-6), a NCAA D-III institution, was led by sophomore guard Dane Givner with 21 points and seven rebounds