Grace Breezes Past Bruins in NAIA Opener

WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace's men's basketball team kicked off the 2025 NAIA National Championships with a convincing win on Friday night.

The No. 2 seed Lancers took care of No. 15 Carolina by the score of 121-69 in the NAIA First Round.

Grace advances to play No. 7 Pikeville at home on Saturday at 5 p.m. in the NAIA Second Round. Pikeville escaped No. 10 St. Francis 86-84 in overtime to wrap up the opening day of the Winona Lake pod.

The winner of Grace and Pikeville will advance to Kansas City for the remainder of the NAIA tournament.

Grace's offense enjoyed a season-high output to open up the national tournament. Grace had six players score in double figures, racking up 32 assists on 45 made field goals.

Carolina opened the scoring with a 3-pointer, but the rest of the game belonged to Grace. The Lancers quickly seized an 11-point lead thanks to an 11-0 run. Gage Sefton had five points during the sprint, and Ian Raasch added four.

Eight minutes into the game, Ian Scott threw down a thunderous dunk after a steal and pass by Carter Stoltzfus.

Justin DeGraaf entered the game midway into the half and provided an instant spark. The forward poured in 10 points in a three-minute span to push Grace's lead to 35-13.

The Lancers maintained a comfortable margin for the rest of the half and went into halftime on yet another positive note. Marcus Davidson swished a buzzer-beating 3-pointer as the first half expired, sending Grace into the locker room with a 52-28 lead.

Raasch and Scott each scored 15 points, outscoring the Bruins at the break. The duo combined to shoot 11 of 13 from the floor.

Raasch continued his strong play, scoring five quick points to begin the second half. A layup from DeGraaf pushed the Lancers' cushion to 31 with 14 minutes remaining.

Grace emptied its bench by the midway mark of the second half, and the Lancers' reserves continued Grace's torrid scoring pace.

Grace topped the century mark with 5:25 on the clock after Davidson hit another 3-pointer.

Isaac Schultz and Cannen Houser erupted off the bench as well, ensuring Grace's lead held firm.

Grace's bench scored over half of the team's points, amassing 62 points in the rout.

Schultz poured in 16 points and nine rebounds in less than 13 minutes of action, shooting 7 of 9 from the floor. Houser had 13 points and three assists in eight minutes, hitting a trio of 3s.

Raasch led all scorers with 22 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists, and Scott had 21 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks. Scott made all seven of his field goals.

DeGraaf had 17 points with three triples, and Sefton tallied 14 points and five boards.

Brycen Graber passed out eight assists with four boards, and Carter Stoltzfus had 4 assists, 3 steals and 3 rebounds.

Davidson drilled three triples, Alex Darnell had four points, Hunter Walston tallied 2 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals, and Caleb Herrold collected three assists.

Grace shot 63 percent from the floor and 44 percent on 3s, and Carolina shot 31 percent overall.