Twelve days between games and four days in the Florida sun created a winning remedy for the Tigers as they snapped their five game losing streak with a convincing 84-65 win over Trinity College of Florida at Florida Christian College on Thursday night. The outcome of the game was not in doubt for long as Grace scored the first seven points and jumped out to a 19-6 lead before Coach Gary Bailey made his first substitutions at the 15:32 mark of the first half. The Tigers shot 56% from the field in the first half, holding Trinity to 38% as Bailey gave all fourteen players solid minutes and Grace held a 46-35 halftime lead.
“Three day tournaments are tough on teams,” said Coach Bailey. “Our goals coming in to this game were to spread out the minutes, work on some fundamentals, and stay free from serious injury. I’m happy we were able to do all of those.”
Every Tiger played at least ten minutes as the bigger and deeper Tigers wore down the opposition. Grace dominated the boards with a 50-24 rebounding advantage, led by Aaron Schutte, and Aaron Schutte and Cameron Cramer led the way in the Tigers 16-0 advantage in assists. Grace finished the game with 50.7% shooting from the field to Trinity’s 36.2%. Five Tigers scored in double figures led by Player of the Game, Aaron Schutte with 13. Cameron Cramer, B J Van Loo, Zach Schutte, and Luke McKian all had 10 points.
The Tigers will take on the host school, #7 Florida Christian College, Friday evening at 7 pm. All of the Tiger games in this tournament are broadcast LIVE on the Grace Sports Network. Rick Cooper will bring you play-by-play action for both remaining games: Florida Christian College (Friday 1/11 @ 7pm), and Multnomah University (Saturday 1/12 @ 9:30 am).
Each broadcast begins 20 minutes prior to the opening tip with the pre-game show. The pre-game show will feature an interview with Grace Head Coach Gary Bailey, a detailed scouting report of the opponent, the starting line-ups and much more.
Fans can listen to the games free of charge on their computers as well as on select handheld devices (Ipods, Ipads, etc.). Special thanks to Pioneer Construction and Sir Speedy Printing in Grand Rapids for being our exclusive sponsors of the broadcasts.
