MISHAWAKA – The Grace College men’s basketball team came up short in a rivalry game at No. 16 Bethel on Saturday afternoon.

The Lancers enjoyed a stout performance from post players Logan Godfrey and Erik Bowen, but Grace fell 87-80 in a tightly contested Crossroads League contest.

Godfrey and Bowen combined for over half of the team’s points, producing 46 points while grabbing 27 rebounds. Godfrey had 23 points, 10 rebounds and 2 steals, and Bowen had 23 points, 7 boards and 2 assists while shooting 11-of-12 from the free throw line.

Grace struggled offensively to start the game and fell behind by 14. The Lancers shot 28 percent from the floor over the first 12 minutes compared to 64 percent for Bethel.

The Lancers (6-6, 0-3 CL) rallied, using a 15-4 run to chop Bethel’s lead down to three.

The half seemed to end on a sour note as Bethel hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds. But Braxton Linville did not give up on the half and sank a buzzer beater from three-quarters of the court, cutting the deficit to 43-36 at halftime.

Godfrey and Bowen were dominant in the half, scoring 22 of the team’s 36 points. Godfrey scored 12, and Bowen added 10.

Grace started the second half strong, scoring 10 of the first 11 points. Bowen scored the final four unanswered points to put Grace ahead 46-44.

The score remained close and was tied 55-55 with 12 minutes to play. But Bethel used its outside shooting to put distance between the sides and pulled ahead by eight.

Grace refused to fade against the Pilots (10-2, 3-0 CL) and gradually wore down Bethel in the post. Two free throws from Bowen cut Bethel’s cushion down to 75-74 with 3:01 to play.

The Pilots responded, however, hitting a triple and two free throws on the next two possessions to extend the lead to six.

Grace was unable to string together enough defensive stops and was forced to foul down the stretch for the final seven-point margin of defeat.

Godfrey and Bowen were the only Lancers to score in double figures. Linville had 9 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals, and Matt Jennings scored seven points with three assists. Charlie Warner and Haden Deaton each scored six.

Grace struggled shooting, finishing with a 39 percent rate as a team compared to 54 percent for Bethel. The Pilots also shot a blistering 60 percent from beyond the arc.

The Lancers are back home on Tuesday against Huntington at 7 p.m. at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.