Box Score Greenville, SC – After both suffering tough defeats in the semifinals, the Johnson University-Tennessee Royals and Grace Bible College Tigers faced off in the NCCAA DII Third Place Game Saturday afternoon.  The game would also be a grudge match for the two teams, as the Tigers won their Regional Championship match-up 109-68 just a couple weeks ago, and back in December the Royals upended the Tigers 86-82.

Although the Tigers were disappointed about missing out on the championship game, they started the game very strong, developing a double-digit lead midway through the first half at 29-18.  The Royals stormed back to chip away at the lead and eventually capture it, taking a 44-40 advantage at the end of the first half.

Johnson extended their lead to 9 at the beginning of the second half, forcing Head Coach Gary Bailey to call a full timeout and let his team recoup – and that they did. The remainder of the game was all Tigers, as they stormed back to take the lead and extend it to 20 points and coasted to take home the 3^rd place plaque.

Sophomore Adam Kregel finished his fantastic tournament with 16 points and 10 rebounds – both team highs.  Senior Adam Rayner and junior Grant Garrison both added 15 points, while senior Montae Harris and junior Caleb Anderson rounded out the Grace scorers in double-figures with 11 each.  Garrison dished out a team-high 7 assists.

The Tigers finish their 2017-18 campaign with a 19-16 record.