Box Score BOX SCORE

Palos Heights, IL – The Grace Tigers successfully completed their sweep of two NAIA teams over the weekend Saturday afternoon, defeating Trinity Christian College 65-56. 

The Tigers created a comfortable lead for the majority of the game, extending all the way to 16 points 5 minutes into the second half.  The Trolls would make a push late, knocking down three point shots on three consecutive possessions to cut the Tiger lead to 4 with 5 minutes remaining.  The Tigers would hold strong defensively for the rest of the game to solidify the 9 point victory and ultimately hold the Trolls to their lowest point total of the season. 

Head Coach Gary Bailey shared his thoughts after the game, noticeably happy with the defensive effort put forth by his team.

"Our defense is really coming around.  We held a very good team to a very low point total tonight. Our help side was very aggressive tonight.  The guys are learning how to hold a lead.  Trinity made a really good run at us and we responded very well.  Free throw shooting has got to be a priority as we're still struggling from the line for some reason.  I'm really proud of the way these guys are coming together so early in the season."

It was a balanced scoring effort for the Tigers, with eight players scoring five or more, led by junior Caleb Anderson with 11 points.  Seniors Adam Rayner and Bernard Smith both pulled down 7 rebounds to lead the Tigers.  Guard Brandon Winchester-Jones dished out a team-high 6 assists while committing 0 turnovers.

The Tigers have big game tomorrow night against cross-town rival Calvin College.  The game will be played on Calvin's old home court, as their arena will be in use by the NCAA for the DIII national volleyball tournament.