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Holland, MI – Despite holding a lead at the halftime break, the Grace Tigers fell to the Hope College Flying Dutchmen Tuesday night by a score of 89-78 in front of a crowd at Devos Arena of nearly 2,000 people.
Hope gained momentum quickly to pull ahead to a 28-18 lead with 6:00 remaining in the first half, before Grace stormed back to finish the half on a 22-11 run and took a 40-39 lead. Hope would eventually take the lead a couple minutes into the second half and did what they needed to do to hold a slim lead for the rest of the game, though the Tigers were always within striking distance.
After Hope extended their lead to 10 for the first time with 3:00 left in the game, two points from Brandon Winchester-Jones (JR/Dowagiac HS) and a clutch three point shot from Caleb Anderson (SR/Shelby HS) trimmed the Hope lead to 5 with just under 2:00 remaining. Subsequently, the Tigers locked down on defense the next possession to force the Flying Dutchmen to use up the entire shot clock and launch a contested three point shot at the buzzer. Unfortunate for the Tigers, that shot would drop to extend their deficit to 8, which was a little too much to overcome with Hope knocking down free throws in the waning moments.
Aside from coming out on the losing end, Head Coach Gary Bailey was otherwise pleased with the team's effort.
"I was proud of our effort tonight but we just didn't make shots. Some untimely turnovers also hurt our chances to win this game. This team knows they can play with anyone and I love that about them. Even after numerous times that we got them way down in the shot clock they would make some unbelievable threes. Give Hope credit for making shots when they needed to. We got better tonight and that is exactly what I ask of the guys. Proud of this group."
Brandon Winchester-Jones (JR/Dowagiac HS) led the Tigers with 21 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals. Austin Jackson (JR/Kelloggsville HS) followed with 18. Freshman Kellum Bridgeforth provided a nice spark off the bench with 8 points and 3 assists.
Next up for the Tigers is a trip to Taylor University in Upland, Indiana on Friday night, which will not be just a normal game on the road. The team will be participating in Taylor's "Silent Night Game" which can be seen featured on ESPN, here.
