#1 Men's Basketball Falls on the Road to #2 Grace Christian

WYOMING, Mich- The Great Lakes Christian College Men's Basketball team took on #2 Grace Christian University Tuesday night and the game lived up to exactly what you would expect from the #1 vs #2 matchup and a national championship rematch. The Crusaders came out early to build a 30-20 lead but like any good team Grace weathered the storm and responded with a 17-5 run to close the first half. GLCC battled foul trouble in the first half with Jalen Huff having to sit most of the first half to foul trouble. GLCC turned it over 9 times in the first half to Grace's 6 turnovers. Grace would have 37-35 lead at the half.

In the second half the Crusaders responded quickly with a 5-0 run to take control of the game again. It was a back and forth game the entire second half, as each team would put together runs of their own. Trent Temple got in foul trouble in the second half which caused him to the bench early in the second half. The Crusaders pressure gave Grace fits in the second half forcicng 14 turnovers in the second half, but GLCC was unable to be efficient out of the turnovers forced scoring just 18 points on 20 Grace turnovers. Grace was carried by Austin Jackson's 32 points, but the real difference maker for the Tigers was Adam Kregl's 27 points including 7/11 from three, when Grace needed a big shot it was Kregl hitting bit shot after big shot. JaQuin Jones led the Crusaders with 22 points 7 rebounds. Isiah Reed chipped in 19 points and 4 assists. Grace Tigers would go on to win 96-84 over the Crusaders. This is GLCC first loss in NCCAA play in the 2019-2020 season.

Inside the Box Score:

• Hustle points: GLCC had 18 points off turnovers and 7 second chance points compared to Grace's 23 points off turnovers and 13 second chance points.
• Grace outrebounded Great Lakes 42-26
• GLCC shot 14/34 from three compared to Grace shooting 10/18 from three.
• Crusaders had 21 assists compared to Grace Tigers 29 assists
• GLCC grabbed 15 steals to Tigers only 8 steals.

What Coach Says:

"This was a game was exactly what I expected it to be. It had a national tournament type feel to it. Credit to Grace they made plays late, they did a good job executing their gameplan. We did not do a great job executing our game. We did not defend with discipline and Grace is too good of a team to lack discipline. We need to do a better job in our closeout situations and knowing our personnel. We fully expect to see Grace again this season whether it be in regionals, nationals or both." On what's next, "For us we have to keep getting better. We have to get better defensively. Our last three games we have been exposed defensively, that is something we will have to improve on moving forward for us to get where we want to be."

What's Next:

Crusaders will take on Moody Bible at 3:00 pm, February 15th. GLCC will honor the four seniors JaQuin Jones, Elijah Kess, DonTre Garrett, and Quincy Green.