WINONA LAKE – The Tuesday night matchup between the Grace College men’s basketball team and Huntington was not decided until the final buzzer.

Unfortunately for the Lancers, Grace came up one basket short in a 71-70 defeat at the MOCC. 

Grace had the final possession with 7.5 seconds to play after forcing Huntington into a missed shot. Brandon Vanderhegghen raced down the left side of the court and put up a floater near the baseline, but Huntington produced a game-saving block on Vanderhegghen’s attempt to seal the one-point win as the clock expired.

The game was a classic Crossroads League battle with 10 ties and 14 lead changes. The lead was never greater than eight points for the duration of the contest.

Grace’s offense started slow on Tuesday. The Lancers (17-8, 7-6 CL) shot just 37 percent from the floor as a team in the first half compared to 44 percent for the Foresters (13-12, 7-6 CL).

Logan Irwin scored five quick points with 3:33 left in the half to give Grace a one-point edge. But the Foresters’ defense held Grace without a point for the final 2:53 of the period, helping the visitors to a 35-34 lead at halftime.

Grace made up for its poor shooting (2-of-10 on 3-pointers) by grabbing eight offensive rebounds. The Lancers scored 20 of their 34 points in the paint.

In the second half, Huntington clung to a slight margin as the clock wound down. Huntington earned its largest lead of the game at 56-48 with 10:37 to play.

Vanderhegghen gave Grace a spark in the final four minutes. He hit a triple and was fouled with 3:38 remaining, and he followed that up with another 3-pointer a minute later to cut Huntington’s lead to one at 67-66. 

Huntington’s Devon Merder answered with a 3-pointer of his own, but Vanderhegghen quickly responded with a bank shot. A free throw by Daniel Woll lifted Huntington to a 71-68 lead with 1:22 left, which proved to be the final point for the visitors.

Logan Irwin hit a jumper with 1:09 left to make it a one-point game. Huntington ran down the clock on the ensuing possession and missed a shot. Grace was unable to corral the rebound, however, losing the ball out-of-bounds and giving the Foresters a fresh shot clock. Huntington wisely used the clock to its advantage, giving Grace only 7.5 seconds on its final fateful game-winning attempt.

Vanderhegghen led Grace with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists, and Irwin finished with 16 points and seven boards.

Erik Bowen had 10 points and six rebounds, and Logan Godfrey added eight points in 16 minutes. Caleb Featherston pulled down six rebounds, and Chad Hoffer tallied six points.

The Lancers will look to bounce back on Saturday when they travel to Spring Arbor for a 3 p.m. tipoff.