KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A storybook season for Grace's men's basketball team came to an end on Monday in the NAIA Fab Four.
The Lancers (34-2) fell to fellow No. 1 seed Freed-Hardeman 86-81 in the thrilling, physical semifinal clash.
The Lions (31-4) found revenge after being ousted by Grace in last year's NAIA Sweet Sixteen.
The loss ends one of the most memorable seasons in Grace history. The Lancers broke new ground in several areas.
Grace set a program record for most wins in a season (34). The Lancers were also ranked No. 1 for most of the season and were awarded with the NAIA tournament's overall No. 1 seed - both first-time accomplishments for the program.
Monday's game saw Grace commit 19 turnovers, the team's third-most all season and most since Jan. 11. The Lancers also shot just 43 percent from the floor, its fourth-lowest rate of the season.
Grace led for most of the first half in a physical opening 20 minutes. Jake Wadding scored four quick points, and Brycen Graber and Cade Gibbs each hit a 3-pointer.
FHU struggled with Grace's size, resulting in five fouls before four minutes had expired.
The Lancers' lead grew to 17-9 with 11 minutes remaining, but FHU refused to let the game get out of hand. A 9-2 run sliced Grace's lead down to one.
Jakob Gibbs responded with five points in less than two minutes to give Grace a little breathing room, but the Lions continued to pressure.
An and-1 was followed by a 3-pointer for the Lions, and FHU took its first lead of the contest at 34-33 with 2:40 left in the half.
The Lions scored seven unanswered points in the closing minutes and claimed momentum at halftime with a 38-35 lead.
Grace struggled on offense, making just 42 percent from the floor with 12 turnovers. FHU shot 47 percent and had five fewer turnovers than Grace. The Lions scored 14 points off Grace's turnovers and also had a 19-5 edge in bench points before halftime.
To stat the second half, the Lancers found success from the perimeter. Jakob Gibbs canned two 3s, and Graber hit another as Grace tied the game at 45-45.
A minute later, Gibbs scored again to push the Lancers on top 49-48. Ian Scott, who rejoined the game after receiving a bloody nose that knocked him out of the first half, also buried a triple to give Grace a two-point edge.
But the Lions scored on their next four possessions, enjoying a 10-0 run to pull ahead 60-52 with 12 minutes left.
The Lancers threw the next haymaker. Over the next six minutes, Grace produced a 17-7 run. Brett Sickafoose swished two 3-pointers in a minute, and Wadding scored four points in the paint.
The Lancers endured a three-minute dry spell, however, and the untimely scoring drought put Grace in a difficult spot. FHU took advantage to lead 74-67 with just 3:22 to play.
The Lancers did their best to rally, using two free throws from Elijah Malone and a 3-pointer from Jakob Gibbs to pull within two with 1:50 on the clock.
But FHU executed perfectly down the stretch. The Lions hit a timely 3-pointer with less than a minute to play, and Grace had a pair of shots roll off the rim.
Grace tried to pull off a miraculous comeback over the last minute, hitting a trio of 3-pointers with two coming from Malone. But FHU made nine free throws over the last 1:26 to keep Grace at a distance.
For the game, Grace shot only 12 free throws, the team's fewest in a game since Jan. 31.
The Lancers were led by 23 points from Jakob Gibbs, a game-high. He shot 5 of 10 from the 3-point line and passed out four assists.
Malone finished with 12 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocked shots, and Wadding had a double-double of 10 points, 11 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 block.
Cade Gibbs finished with 8 points, 4 boards and 2 assists, and Graber had nine points with three assists.
Sickafoose shot 3 of 4 from the 3-point line for his nine points, and Scott amassed 5 points, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 assists in 12 minutes.

Offense Leads Grace Past Bethel
WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace College’s softball team put up double digits runs in both games against Bethel on Monday afternoon on the way to a split with the Pilots.
The Lancers (6-10, 2-6 Crossroads League) were led by Cassie Hayes who had five RBIs in the game two win over Pilots.
The first game of Monday’s doubleheader saw both teams go back and forth with offensive innings.
Tia O’Connor had a two RBI single to left field that scored both Bella Duran and Jeri Ellis. Halle Nett was the next batter up for the Lancers and had an RBI double that brought O’Connor around to score and give Grace a 3-0 lead after the first inning.
Bethel responded with a run in the second inning and three more in the top of the third to edge ahead 4-3.
Nett helped Grace tie the game at four after her fly ball was misplayed and Madison Gainey was able to score from second base.
Sage Ladig then hit a three-run homerun over the left field fence to reestablish Grace’s lead.
The Pilots kept the offense coming with a grand slam in the fourth inning to jump ahead 8-7
Another homerun, this time from Gainey, scored two more runs for Grace and pushed them ahead 9-8.
Bethel tied the game at eight runs apiece in the fifth inning which momentarily put a pause on the game’s scoring.
As the game entered extra innings, Grace traded runs in the eighth and ninth frames. The Pilots added two more runs in the top 10th inning.
In the home-half of the 10th inning Gainey hit a sacrifice fly that cut the lead in half, but the Lancers were unable to plate the game-tying run, dropping the first game of the day 14-13.
The second of Monday’s doubleheaders saw Bethel draw first blood. The Pilots crossed three runs in the second inning to gain the early advantage.
Grace strung together a trio of hits in the second inning and O’Connor picked up an RBI to get the Lancers on the board.
The deficit was cut down to a run in the fourth inning. Hayes reached base with a single and Kaitlyn Seagrave was brought in as a pinch runner and promptly stole second base, Seagrave eventually scored thanks to O’Connor’s third RBI of the day.
After the three-run inning, Chloe Huff took complete control of the game, shutting out the Pilots for the final five innings of play.
Huff’s efforts in the circle kept Grace in the game until the offense came to life late.
In the fifth inning Hayes had a three RBI double that gave the Lancers their first lead of the game. Hayes would add a run herself thanks to another O’Connor RBI that gave Grace a 6-3 lead entering the sixth inning.
Grace added four more runs in the penultimate inning and to give themselves a lead Bethel never threatened, as the Lancers won 10-3.
Hayes had five RBIs and was a perfect 4-4 from the plate in game two. Huff finished the game with six strikeouts and only gave up five hits.
Grace will return to action on Tuesday for a 3 p.m. showdown with Taylor.

Lancers Open Spring Season
NOBLESVILLE, Ind. - The Grace men’s golf team participated in its first tournament under head coach Trey Stoll over the weekend at the Purgatory Intercollegiate. The 36-hole event, hosted by Taylor at Purgatory Golf Club, was the first tournament of the spring season
The Lancers improved by 13 strokes on the second day of play to finish seventh in the 11-team field with a combined score of 629. Two of Grace’s golfers finished top-10 on the individual leaderboard.
After the first 18 holes, Grace was two strokes behind Cornerstone and one stroke ahead of Holy Cross in seventh place. The team improved by 13 strokes, carding a 308 in the final round.
Leading the way for Grace was Camron Jones with an opening 77. He followed it up with an even-par 72 on the second day, carding a combined score of 149. He sank four birdies in round one and four more in the final 18 on his way to a seventh place finish overall.
Matthew Shull finished two shots behind Jones with a 151 in a tie for 10th place. He shaved nine strokes off of his first-round 80 to fire the lowest single round score of the tournament. His second-day 71 featured four birdies and 12 pars.
Luke Rosebrook finished below 80 with a 79 in the opening round and came home with an 84 in round two.
Isaac Embry and Tristen Dubbs capped off the scoring for the Lancers. Embry went 85-81 to improve four strokes. Dubbs put up consecutive 85s for a 170 total.
Grace will return to the course on April 1 for the April Fools Day Classic hosted by Bethel at Rock Hollow Golf Club.