WINONA LAKE – A sluggish first half of action plagued Grace’s men’s basketball team on Wednesday, resulting in an 84-75 defeat to Mount Vernon Nazarene at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.

The Lancers (8-3, 0-2 Crossroads League) fell behind by as many as 18 points in the first half and came up short in a noble comeback bid after halftime.

Grace struggled to keep up with MVNU’s blistering pace in the first half. The Cougars (9-1, 2-0 CL) made life difficult for Grace on both ends of the court, outhustling the Lancers for much of the half.

The Cougars put Grace on its collective heels by scoring on the first two possessions. MVNU quickly opened up an 18-7 lead before five minutes had expired from the clock.

Grace tried to catch up, cutting its deficit down to eight on a 3-pointer from Jaret Sons. But the Cougars responded with four 3s in a four-minute span to claim a commanding 41-23 lead.

The Lancers did well to eat away at the Cougars’ cushion and went into halftime behind by 11.

MVNU had six offensive boards and forced Grace into 10 turnovers before halftime. Erik Bowen was the lone bright spot for Grace, producing a double-double in the first half with 18 points and 11 boards.

To start the second half, Grace gained a spark from Logan Godfrey and Chad Hoffer. Godfrey scored six quick points for Grace, including a momentum-building putback dunk, and Hoffer scored four in a row to slice MVNU’s lead down to four with 12 minutes remaining.

The game stayed within single digits for the remainder of the tense conclusion. Twice Grace was able to make it a one-possession game, but twice MVNU had an answer.

A low post finish from Bowen with 5:44 left made the score 66-64, but the Cougars answered with two straight triples.

With two minutes remaining, Sons buried his second trey of the game to cut MVNU’s margin down to three at 78-75. The Cougars secured the win, however, with a basket on the ensuing possession and finished matters with four free throws in the last minute.

The Cougars were particularly deadly off Grace turnovers. The Lancers committed 15 turnovers, and MVNU capitalized with 20 points off those miscues.

The Lancers will look to get their first league win on Saturday against archrival Bethel. Grace hosts Bethel in a doubleheader at 3 p.m. which follows the women’s game at 1 p.m. The game will also be Alumni Day at the MOCC.