Grand Rapids, MI – The Grace Christian Men’s Basketball team faced a pair of challenges this past week on the road, with the first being a match up against NAIA opponent Cleary University. The Tigers completed their first challenge of the week on Wednesday evening by defeating the Cougars of Cleary 71-61.
Cleary would jump out to a 11-5 lead in the first five minutes, but the Tigers quickly bounced back and gained the lead after a pair of 3 pointers by Bankeys Omari. The Cougars were able to tie it up just before halftime, but Grace regained their lead by 8. However, Cleary knocked down their own pair of 3s to cut the Tigers’ lead down to 4 going into the half.
Less than five minutes into the second half, the Cougars cut the lead to one point, but the Tigers got back to work and continued to expand their lead into the double digits. The Tigers capped off the night with a 10-point victory. Omari led the way with 17 points and 7 rebounds, while Zac Yorke and Gavin Fisher each added 14 points a piece.
Grace’s second challenge of the week was a match up against NCAA DIII Calvin University on Friday night. Right off the bat the Knights went on a 13-0 run, but the Tigers slowly began to cut into the lead. With less than 10 minutes to play in the first half, Calvin would lead by 18, but Grace would cut it down to 11 going into halftime.
The Cougars continued to expand their lead into the second half, up by 31 points with less than 2 minutes to go, eventually sealing the night off with an 87-61 victory over the visiting Tigers. Brayden Gable and Allen Briggs led Grace with 16 and 11 points respectively.
Men’s Basketball is back in action this Tuesday when they host Calumet College of St. Joseph (Ind.) at 4pm.
