Allen Durham looks inside

The 2oth ranked team in the NAIA II proved to be too much for the Tigers as they dropped a 73-51 decision in the championship game.  The Panthers jumped out to a ten point lead and the Tigers could not get any closer before the half.  The Panthers would take a 36-23 lead into the locker room.

After the intermission, Allen Durham connected on a three pointer to bring Grace to within ten.  Brandon Herlein had a wide-open look at a three to bring Grace to within seven but it rimmed out.  The two teams traded baskets or stops for the first thirteen minutes of the second half as the lead stayed between ten and thirteen points.  Davenport added to their lead in the last couple of minutes to close the door and seal the victory.

“We did a horrible job of handling the ball in the first half”, said Head Coach Gary Bailey.  “Davenport forced us out of our sets and we just looked flustered.  I haven’t seen us handle pressure so poorly since last November. As a team we are usually happy with our assist numbers after a game.  Tonight we had just 6 assists.”  The Tigers turned the ball over 18 times compared to 13 for DU.  Grace shot just 30% from the floor and 19% from the arc.  DU hit for 54% for the game.

Allen Durham led all scorers again with 27 points and added 12 rebounds and was named to the All-Tournament Team.  Ryan Krombeen pulled down 13 boards.

GBC takes on NAIA II ranked Aquinas College on Monday at the Aldrich Center on the campus of Grace Bible College at 7:30pm.