College basketball: IUSB women, Bethel men see seasons end
The winningest season in program history came to a conclusion Saturday night for the Indiana University South Bend women's basketball team.
The No. 19 Titans could not recover from a slow start in dropping an 85-47 final to host Dakota State in a second-round game of the NAIA National Tournament in Madison, S.D.
College basketball: IUSB women, Bethel and Grace men advance in NAIA National Tournament
IUSB, making its third straight appearance in the tourney, finishes at 31-2. Dakota State improves to 27-6 and moves on to the Sweet 16 in Sioux City Iowa starting March 21.
IUSB fell behind 20-6 to open the contest and were down 40-26 at halftime. The Titans shot just 12-of-34 from the field in the first half and had 11 turnovers. The hosts shot 16-of-34 from the field, including 8-of-23 on 3-pointers, and had a 14-2 edge in points off turnovers.
The Titans finished the game 20-of-69 overall from the field, including 2-of-14 for distance. They had 18 turnovers and were outscored 22-4 in points off those miscues. Dakota State, which had six players score in double figures, also had a 35-9 edge in bench points.
Tenleigh Phelps led the Titans with 14 points. Katie Gard scored 10 points, while Sullivan Kessler had nine, Maddie Gard eight, Emma Fisher four and Jazmen Watts 2.
Coach Steve Bruce will say good bye to fifth-year seniors Maddie and Katie Gard and Fisher, all starters.
Bethel men come up short
The Bethel University men's basketball squad fell short in losing to Central Baptist Arkansas 79-76 in second round play of the NAIA National Tournament in Olathe, Kansas.
The Pilots had a pair of 3-point attempts by Drew Lutz in the game's final seconds that did not fall in an attempt to tie the contest.
Lutz, a former star at Penn High School, finished his brilliant college career with 26 points. The standout guard scored more than 2,000 points overall and more than 1,000 in his past two seasons playing for the Pilots after transferring from NCAA Division I Incarnate Word in Texas.
Bethel, which finished at 20-11, trailed 48-39 at halftime. The Pilots finished just 2-of-17 for the game from 3-point land and were 16-of-27 from the free throw line. Central Baptist hit 12-of-30 from 3-point range.
Nathan Aerts had 15 points for the Pilots. Former Jimtown High School standout Preston Phillips scored 14 points and Trent Edwards, a NorthWood High School product, added seven.
Central Baptist, which improved to 28-6, had five players score in double figures.
Lancers roll on
Grace looked every bit like the top team in the country in this one.
The No. 1 Lancers wrapped up a perfect season at home with a torrid first half performance to rout Union.
Grace bolted to a 21-4 lead en route to a 58-31 halftime advantage. The Lancers, who improved to 19-0 at home, shot 20-of-28 from the field in the first half, including 6-of-8 from distance, and hit 12-of-15 free throws.
Jakob Gibbs scored 21 of his game-high 28 points in the first half for Grace, which won its eighth straight game. Elijah Malone netted 15 of his 24 points in the opening half.
Freshman Ian Raasch scored five points and had four rebounds and Carter Stoltzfus had five rebounds and six assists for the Lancers.
Grace, the top seed in the national tourney for the first time in program history, shot 39-of-61 for the game and 18-of-22 from the line. A total of 11 players scored for the Lancers.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: The IUSB women and Bethel men lost in the NAIA tourney
