Mens Basketball

David Steenstra, son of Rick and Deb Steenstra, has signed to play for the Tigers next season. David, a 6'4" forward from Fremont Home School averaged 9 points and 9.3 rebounds per game this season. "I watched David play a few games this season and I really liked how hard he works on the boards" said Coach Gary Bailey. "David is a great kid and will fit in very well at GBC. He has a good work ethic and instinct around the basket." David has five sisters, Brenda, Lisa, Renee, Rachel, and Hannah and one brother, Daniel. In his spare time David likes to fish and hunt. David will major in Business and wear # 34 next year.

Grace continued their strong recruiting year by signing Carl Getty out of Wayland HS. Getty, a 6'5" forward will wear #14 for the Tigers next year. "When we first watched Carl play this year we immediately liked his work ethic. He plays hard nosed defense and rebounds well", said Head Coach Gary Bailey. "We feel that Carl will be a really good college player." Carl is the son of Mike and Kim Getty of Wayland. Carl has two sisters, Amber and Allison. Carl played on a very successful Wayland team this year going 20-3 and winning a District Championship. In addition to basketball, he was HM all conference in soccer, all academic team in baseball, and has received the student athlete award three times. Carl will major in business at GBC in the fall.

The trip to the national tournament was not what the Tigers had planned. Three straight loses dropped the Tigers to an 8th place finish in Springfield, MO. The Tigers lost to the #1 seed Cincinnati Christian University Golden Eagles 104 - 87. Paul Nelson led Grace with 22 points. Mike Boone added 20, Brandon Clahassey 14, and Jimmy Booth 12. Clahassey grabbed 9 boards and Booth added 4 assists. Grace ended the year at 19-19. The Golden Eagles blazed the nets for 63.6% from the floor and 55% from the three. GBC fell behind by 16 at the half and could not make up any ground. This is Grace's fourth straight trip to the national tournament.

The Tigers fell to Manhatten Christian College 87-75 in the losers bracket of the NCCAA II national tournament. Grace fell behind early and never got any closer than six. The Tigers went into the locker room down twelve at the half. The two teams played even for the last twenty minutes. Jimmy Booth led GBC with 17 points and 5 rebounds. Dan Hosteter and Mike Boone added 15 points apiece. Brandon Herlein led Grace with 5 assists. Grace now plays Cincinnati Christian, the #1 seed in this years tournament. The two teams will play for 7th and 8th place. This years teams have been very evenly matched which has made this years tournament wide open as many upsets and overtime games have made this one for the classics.

The Tigers never got it going in a 87-53 loss to the Grace University Royals from Nebraska. In Springfield, MO Grace did not look like the Midwest Regional champion as they shot just 34% from the floor, 28% from the three, and 14% fom the line. "We never were in this game," said Coach Gary Bailey. We were not ready to play today. We had an advantage inside and never got it going. We played lazy at almost every position and it's really frustrating to get outworked like we did tonight. You don't expect that to happen when you get to the nationals." Matt Jamieson led GBC with 14 points and Jimmy Booth added 12. Grace will take on Manhatten Christian out of Kansas at 4:00pm CST.

Ben Levandoski, a 5'10" guard from Algoma Christian, has signed with the Tigers. Levandoski led Algoma to a 15-5 record this season averaging 13.2 ppg, 5.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 2.9 steals per game. Ben was voted a Co-MVP of the Alliance Leauge and was named 1st team All-Conference for the second straight year. "We like the way Ben handled the ball and his team on the court. He has good court awareness and a very nice shot," said Head Coach Gary Bailey. "We are excited to see Ben develope. We will need some help at the point next year and Ben will get every opportunity to get playing time as a freshman. Algoma's men's coach, Lee Ash, said that Ben is one of the hardest workers on the team and always doing the extra stuff to improve his game. We love to hear that."

Ben is the son of Dave and Julie Levandoski of Sparta, MI. Ben has a brother Tony and a sister Nicki. Ben is leaning toward a business degree

Grace has received the #3 seed for the national tournament held in Springfield, MO. The March 13th game time is 6:00pm CST. The Tigers will play the winner of the Southwestern Christian University/Grace University (NE) game. The top four seeds all receive a first round by. The Tigers have already advanced to the Elite Eight. This the fourth national tournament in four years for GBC. If you need more information on the tournament, you can go to http://www.cbcag.edu/.

For hotel information, please call the Sleep Inn at 888-753-3760.

Grace's men's basketball coach Gary Bailey was named the NCCAA II Midwest Region "Coach of the Year" for the 2007-08 season. Bailey is in his fourth year at GBC and third as head coach. This year the Tigers are 19-16 and headed for a third straight Elite Eight after winning the Midwest Regionals on Saturday. "I am very happy and humbled by this award," said Bailey. "It really is an honor to be selected by your peers for this award. Everyone should know, though, that it is not just a one person award. My assistant coaches are great friends of mine and they do so much of the work. This award has to be shared with them. Kyle Bohl has a great basketball mind and works with the defense which is always one of the best in the NCCAA II. Dan George helps with game management as well as picking up some sports information duties. My dad, John Bailey, helps alot just as an ear for me after games or in game planning. We look forward to his help at the National Tournament this year when he comes up from Florida. This is a great team to coach. They have great chemistry and we seem to peeking at the right time."

Grace will travel to Springfield, MO on March 12th to begin preparation for the National Tournament.

Grace continued it's impressive tournament run with a 73-64 win over Maranatha. Grace was led by Dan Hosteter's 18 points. Jimmy Booth scored 14 and Brandon Herlein 11 for Grace. Paul Nelson, Brandon Clahassey, and Mike Boone each had 8. Matt Jamieson had 7 assists. Grace shot 51% for the game and 81% from the line. This is GBC' third regional title in the last four years.

Mike Boone and Dan Hosteter were named to the All-Region Team and Jimmy Booth was an Honorable Mention. "I am very proud of our whole team for the way they fought back in this game. We had a bit of foul trouble and a couple of injuries in the game, but everyone did exactly what they were called on to do", said Coach Bailey.

The Tigers now wait for the seeding for the National Tournament in Springfield, MO, March 11-15.