MEN’S BASKETBALL

The Lancers of Grace College (14-15, 4-13) snapped a three-game losing streak against the HU men’s basketball team Tuesday night by slipping past their visitors 77-75 in a hotly-contested Crossroads League clash.

While only two points separated the two teams at the final buzzer, that wasn’t the case throughout the night as each squad enjoyed a 14-point advantage to make for a rollercoaster of emotion for everyone in the Manahan Othopaedic Capital Center.

Despite a slow start that saw the visitors score just 12 points through the opening ten minutes, the Foresters rallied back take a lead into intermission. The turnaround was impressive as Platt’s crew not only recovered from a 14-point deficit of 26-12, but managed to jump in front 39-33 by halftime.

Konner Platt spurred the about-face with back-to-back triples. It was the start of a 27-7 run over the last ten minutes of the period during which HU missed just two shots. Zac Owens played a huge part in the comeback by netting 11 points during the stretch.

HU was able to carry over their momentum into the second frame by scoring on six of their first seven possessions which included three long balls to balloon the lead to 14 at 56-42 by the 14:39 mark. Unfortunately, the Lancers returned the favor from the first half. Over the next seven minutes, the hosts pieced together a 21-7 spurt to draw even with the Foresters for the fifth time at 63-63.

Two minutes and two ties later, GC took advantage of an HU blunder at the six-minute mark to jump in front permanently at 70-68. They would go on to extend their advantage to six with 2:17 to go but Platt wasn’t about to let his team go down without a fight. The junior sharpshooter drained his fourth trey of the evening just inside two minutes.

After over 90 seconds of empty possessions at both ends of the floor, Platt scored in the paint with :17 ticks remaining to keep things interesting at 76-75. Grace added a point to their total from the charity stripe after which the Foresters had a chance for the tie or win but weren’t able to get a good look on the way to suffering their second straight loss.

Platt finished with 20 points and four assists to pace HU. Owens added 18 points, six assists and four rebounds. Spencer Ballinger and Peyton West each tossed in nine points. West also collected a game-best 11 rebounds.

Logan Godfrey topped the Lancers with 20 points and eight rebounds. Haden Deaton and Charlie Warner collected 17 points each while Braxton Linville posted 13.

With just Bethel left on their schedule before postseason play, the Foresters are locked in at the No. 7 spot in the league standings. HU (16-13, 6-11) tips off with the Pilots on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.