Grand Rapids, MI – The 1st Tiger Holiday Charity Tournament might be tough to duplicate in future tournaments. The first night saw both games going to overtime. Tonight, the Tigers fell to Ohio Christian University in the tournament final 62-60 in another close game. GBC led for the majority of the game but the Trailblazers turned four late turnovers by the Tigers into baskets to win the championship. The Tigers had a good look at a 15 foot jumper to send the game into overtime but it fell short.
Nick Mascorro paced Grace with 14 points and Senior Zach Schutte added 13 for Grace. The Trailblazers were led in scoring by Devyn Benson’s 14 points with Kenny Cooper adding 12 and Wesley Russell 11. The Trailblazers leading scorer, Trey Vaughn was held to 2 of 7 shooting for 6 points. Greg Salmon pulled down 6 rebounds to lead Grace. The Tigers held a 32-25 rebounding advantage.
“I was extremely proud of our team today,” said Coach Gary Bailey. “I know I keep bringing it up but we have a lot of new faces that are playing a lot of minutes for us and we get better every game. This OCU team is big and very athletic and we led the entire game. The turnovers and missed lay-ups late were the difference. The turnovers were not forced as much as they were just bad decisions. That is something we can fix. OCU went up by five at one point and we answered with a 16-4 run. If we keep improving, we might be a dangerous team around tournament time.”
Kuyper College defeated Crossroads College in the Consolation game.
The big winner of the tournament was Bethany Christian Services the recipient of the revenue from tonight’s game. “We are really happy that we will be able to present a check for $2,500.00 to Bethany next week,” said Coach Bailey who also serves as Director of Sports Operation. “We need to thank our wonderful sponsors of this event. Their contributions allowed us to in finance this tournament so that all of the money from the gate could go to this great organization.
Tournament Sponsors – Karnemaat Farms, Tire Wholesalers, Helena Chemicals, and Landheer Farm Bureau Insurance
Tiger Holiday Charity Tournament
Champions – Ohio Christian University 2nd Place – Grace Bible College 3rd Place – Kuyper College 4th Place – Crossroads CollegeAll Tournament Team
Devyn Benson – Ohio Christian University Wesley Russell – Ohio Christian University Zach Schutte – Grace Bible College Sal Hermiz – Kuyper College Andy Carson – Crossroads College
