PHOTO ALBUM

Detroit, MI – The NCCAA DII #4 Great Lakes Christian College Crusaders pulled the upset over the #1 ranked Grace Christian University Tigers Wednesday afternoon at Little Caesar's Arena, prevailing 90-78 in the rematch of the 2019 NCCAA DII National Championship game.

A slow start for the Tigers allowed the Crusaders to jump out to an early lead and they would take a 14-point advantage into the halftime break.  The Tigers went on a couple short spurts in the second half but could not overcome a spectacular shooting night from Great Lakes, largely influenced by point guard Elijah Kess, who was 9-10 from beyond the arc and finished with a game high 35 points.

"It was evident right from the tip that Great Lakes came to play and we did not," said Head Coach Gary Bailey. "We didn't have an answer today for their hot shooting and we didn't play Grace basketball.   They executed their game plan and we really didn't get into ours.  That combination was the reason for the loss.  We are a really good team but we seem to get some really slow starts this season.  I know that this team is very talented and we will get things fixed and be ready for the second half of the season."

Brandon Winchester-Jones finished with a team-high 16 points, and Adam Kregel scored 14 points to surpass the 1,000 point milestone for his career.  Kregel is the 29^th Tiger in the 59 year history of Grace men's basketball to reach the feat.

Grace now sits at 6-6 on the season and they have a week away from competition before taking on Lake Michigan College on December 13 in Benton Harbor, MI at 7:30 pm.