Brandon Herlein Hits 1000

Ryan Krombeen

Allen Durham

Grace used solid shooting from the field (56.9%) and a 45-17 rebounding edge to overcome 27 turnovers in downing Dallas Christian 78-64 on Thursday night in Springfield, MO.  The win moves the Tigers into the NCCAA DII Final Four for the second straight year.  Grace will take on Central Bible College, the host school for the tournament, at 8 PM CST on Friday night.  Central Bible was an 85-67 winner over Ohio Christian University.  The winner of tomorrow night’s semi-final will advance to the National Championship game on Saturday at 4 PM.

Senior Brandon Herlein began the night with two three pointers to move him past the 1000 point mark for his career.  He finished the night with 14 points.  Junior Allen Durham had his usual solid performance with 27 points and 9 rebounds but it was sophomore Ryan Krombeen who came up big for the Tigers with 20 points and 15 boards.  Christian Lawyer led Dallas Christian with 18 points.

“I wasn’t pleased with the careless way we handled the ball tonight,” said Coach Gary Bailey, “But I think we were a bit rusty from the pre-tourney layoff and Dallas Christian deserves a lot of credit for playing us tough and physical.  I’m confident we will do a better job with taking care of the ball tomorrow.”