Grace College’s men’s basketball team picked up an arsenal of awards from the Crossroads League. The Lancers had four players on the All-Crossroads League Team, and Scott Moore was named the league’s Coach of the Year in just his first season as head coach.

The Manchester University softball team earned a thrilling 10-9 Opening Day victory over the Hope College Flying Dutch on Thursday afternoon in Logansport.

Goshen sophomore guard Drew Hogan put on a three-point and free-throw shooting clinic almost the entire game of the Class 4A Sectional 4 contest in Elkhart’s North Side Gym. The worm turned with 10.5 seconds in regulation play with the score knotted at 53. Eighteenth-year Tiger head coach Doug Ogle, who announced his retirement from basketball Monday afternoon, called a time out. Hogan missed the second free throw, leaving the score 53-all, and headed for overtime. His reversal of fortune continued with two of Goshen’s four missed free throws in overtime opening the door for the Tigers (12-9) to win 57-56 and advance to the semifinal round.

Second-ranked Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian boys basketball cruised to a 75-52 victory Wednesday night over Whitko in the Class 2A North Manchester Sectional opening round game. Despite the lopsided final score, Wildcat junior Brett Sickafoose finished with 35 points against the Braves. Twenty-five of those points of those points came in the second half.

For the 10th time in program history, Grace College’s men’s basketball team is headed to the NAIA National Champion-ships. The Lancers earned an at-large invitation to the tournament, held in Sioux Falls, S.D. The 32-team field is broken into four 8-team brackets. Grace landed the No. 4 seed in its bracket and will play No. 5 seed West Virginia Tech. The game will take place on March 12, at 1:45 p.m. (Central time) at the Sanford Pentagon.

The calendar has turned to March, which in the world of high school sports can only mean one thing – Basketball. It is time for state tournaments, March Madness and, yes, the annual rhetoric about the merits of the shot clock.

Triton sophomore guard Ashton Oviedo led the Trojan boys basketball team to a pair of wins last week, clinching a winning season for the team and giving the squad some needed momentum heading into this week’s sectional tournament. For that effort, Oviedo has been named the Times-Union Athlete of the Week for Feb. 24-29.

WINONA LAKE – Grace College announced Wednesday Ken Barlow will serve as the banquet speaker for the 2020 NCCAA National Championships. Barlow, a legendary basketball player at Notre Dame, will be the keynote speaker at the banquet on March 17. The banquet, held at Warsaw Community Church, starts at 6:30 p.m. Limited tickets for the public are available for $20 or $150 for a table of eight people. Contact Grace's athletic office at (574) 372-5100 ext. 6266 to reserve your ticket.

Triton head boys basketball coach Jason Groves wanted his team to get off to a fast start in its Class 1A Sectional opener against West Central Tuesday. Mission accomplished.

In a game that was tight through three quarters, the Tippecanoe Valley boys basketball team lost their Class 3A Sectional 21 matchup against Lakeland 54-33 Tuesday night at NorthWood High School. The teams were tied at the half and the Vikings were down only six after the third, but a scoreless fourth quarter ended Valley’s chances of repeating as sectional champions.

Manchester hosted the opening round of Class 2A Sectional 36 action, battling from their opponent’s third quarter runs of 9-0 and 5-0, trailing by 13, 44-31 late in the period.  Fort Wayne Canterbury maintained a 50-40 lead early in the final frame when the tourney hosts put on a 10-0 run to tie the game and continued battling to the end staying within two to four points. The comeback fell short, and their season ended with a 58-56 loss to Fort Wayne Canterbury Tuesday.

Lady Lancers split with William Woods; Grace tracksters primed for NAIA Nationals; Grace erupts for 18 runs

Citing the grind of 35 years in the profession, and the desire to spend more time with family, Warsaw head boys basketball coach Doug Ogle told his team before Monday’s practice that he will be stepping away from the program at season’s end. The Tigers open postseason play in the Class 4A Elkhart Central Sectional against Goshen at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Plus other Grace, Crossroads League athletic news.

In a possible sectional preview, Wawasee got off to an early 12-point lead at the end of the first quarter Friday night and never looked back, defeating Tippecanoe Valley 56-36 in the boys basketball regular-season finale for both teams at the Hardwood Teepee. The host Warriors would go on to outscore their guests in each quarter, with both benches clearing as time ran down. Keaton Dukes paced Wawasee with 17 points and eight rebounds. Ethan Hardy pitched in with 14 points and seven boards, with Austin Miller adding 13 points to the winning effort.

Warsaw traveled to Carroll High School for their final regular season game facing an energetic Senior Night Crowd in their host’s field house. The boys in orange and black played gritty, competitive basketball for the first three quarters trailing one of the Fort Wayne area’s top teams 36-33.

Women’s Basketball earning votes in NAIA Top 25; Crossroads League in the NAIA Polls

Tyson Yates hit eight of 13 shots inside the three-point arc to finish with a game-high 23 points, helping Triton to a 63-45 non-conference win over visiting Knox in the boys basketball regular and Hoosier North Athletic Conference season finale for both teams.

Manchester seventh grade girls basketball

Grace College’s men’s basketball team thought Wednesday’s game was headed to overtime after a dramatic halfcourt shot from Charlie Warner. But Taylor had other thoughts. With the score tied at 85 apiece, Taylor’s Mason Degenkolb drilled a fullcourt heave near Grace’s bench, just beating the buzzer to give Taylor a dramatic 88-85 victory.

Host Manchester entered the fourth quarter trailing Three Rivers Conference rival Whitko 46-30 courtesy of a 32-8 run from 6:30 in the second quarter until the end of the third period. Rattled by cold outside shooting and an aggressive 2-3 zone by the visiting Wildcats, the hosts had eight minutes to muster a come-back. A 20-9 fourth quarter run wasn’t enough to overtake Whitko. The Wildcats clinched a 55-50 win to improve their record to 9-12 overall and 6-3 in the TRC. Manchester fell to 9-12 and 4-5 in conference play.

I am going to bare my soul a little today. I was broadcasting last weekend, and I experienced something that had not happened for several years — I “locked up.”

Grace College’s women’s basketball team suffered a 78-58 defeat to No. 17 Indiana Wesleyan on Tuesday. The Lady Lancers fell in the quarterfinals of the Crossroads League Tournament, ending their hopes of an NAIA tournament berth.

What a week it was around the state, with several boys making statements throughout the week, and the girls standing out on Saturday at their respective Semistate sites for Indiana Basketball Coaches Association player of the week honorees. In nine combined games last week, the boys’ honorees posted five double-doubles and one triple-double, while on the girls’ side, six of the eight state finalists have a feline flavor, as Lions, Panthers, Tigers, and Wildcats are ready to take over Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Saturday.

Plus gymnastics and middle school basketball results