College basketball: IUSB women, Bethel and Grace men advance in NAIA National Tournament
A trio of area college hoops teams are moving on in the NAIA edition of March Madness.
The Indiana University South Bend women's team, along with the Bethel University and Grace College men's squads. all earned first round wins Friday night in the NAIA National Tournament.
The IUSB women, ranked No. 19, topped Grand View University 72-53 in an opener in South Dakota. The 12th-seeded Titans, now 31-1, advance to play either host Dakota State or Science & Arts (Oklahoma) Saturday at 7 pm ET. The winner of that game earns a spot in the Sweet 16 next week in Sioux City. Iowa.
Women's preview: Confident IU South Bend women's basketball team ready to prove itself
Standout guard Jazmen Watts had a big performance to pace the Titans, who had lost in the first round of the tournament the past two years. The former South Bend Riley High School star poured in 24 points. Watts, a senior guard in her second season at IUSB, hit 10-of-12 shots from the field, including 4-of-6 on 3-pointers. She also had eight rebounds.
IUSB led 19-10 after the opening period and 37-21 at halftime. The Titans did it with defense and rebounding. Coach Steve Bruce's squad, which is a veteran unit, outrebounded Grand View 49-34 and held them to 19-of-69 shooting, including 9-of-40 on 3-point tries.
The Titans, who won their seventh straight game, shot 29-of-60 from the field, including 4-of-10 from distance.
Maddie Gard, a fifth-year senior, had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Titans. Tenleigh Phelps netted 13 points, Katie Gard 11 and Emma Fisher eight.
IUSB poured in 48 points in the paint in the dominating win over the No. 5 seed.
Men's preview: College basketball: Former locals leading Bethel, Grace into national tourney
Bethel, Grace move on
Bethel pulled away in the second half to down LSU Alexandria 85-67 in Olathe, Kansas.
The Pilots, who improved to 20-10, advance to play either Mid-America Nazarene (Kansas) or Central Baptist (Arkansas) Saturday night. The winner moves on to the Sweet 16 next week in Kansas City.
Bethel, which lost in the first round of the national tourney a year ago, led 37-32 at halftime.
Nathan Aerts popped in 22 points to pace the Pilots to the win.
Former Penn High School star Drew Lutz scored 20 points for Bethel. Preston Phillips, who played at Jimtown High School, added 10 points.
Bethel shot 26-of-62 from the field, including 5-of-16 on 3-pointers. The Pilots outscored LSU 28-15 from the free throw line, 18-7 in bench points and 53-31 in points in the paint.
LSU Alexandria, which finished at 24-7, shot just 23-of-73 from the field, including 6-of-27 on trey tries.
Grace, the top seed for the 64 team field, beat Washington Adventist 85-65 in Winona Lake, Ind.
The No. 1 ranked and host Lancers improved to 31-1 overall, including 18-0 at home this season.
Grace trailed 36-31 at halftime before a 54 point second half earned it the win. The hosts shot 19-of-30 from the field and 15-of-21 from the free throw line in the final half.
Grace big man Elijah Malone continued his dominating season. The 6-10 senior center, who played at Prairie Heights High School in LaGrange, Ind., had 25 points and 11 rebounds. Malone was the Crossroads Player of the Year after leading the Lancers to both the regular season and league tournament titles.
Junior guard Carter Stoltzfus, a former standout at Northridge High School, scored six points for Grace. Freshman Ian Raasch, a NorthWood High School product, added three points.
Grace will play Union or Ottawa Saturday at 5 p.m. in Winona Lake with the winner advancing to the Sweet 16 next week in Kansas City.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Trio of area college hoops teams were winners in first round of NAIA
