WINONA LAKE, Ind. – The Indiana Tech men's basketball team continued to show improvement on Tuesday night, taking Grace College, who was receiving votes in the NAIA Coaches' Poll, to the wire in a 70-67 loss at The Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.

The Warriors (5-7) got off to a slow start as the Lancers (10-3) opened the contest with points on their first five possessions in route to a 10-point, 14-4 lead six minutes in. A Tyrece Edwards jumper gave Tech their first points and a second chance three-pointer by Tanner Watkins at the 13:10 mark sparked a 10-0 run by the Orange and Black with a pair of Lavonte Davis free throws tying the score at 14. An 11-4 run put the Lancers back in front by seven, but the Warriors had an answer, outscoring Grace 9-1 over the next four minutes, taking their first lead of the contest, 27-26, on a pair of Edwards' free throws. The Lancers scored four of the final six points in the half to take a 30-29 lead into the break.

Tech struggled offensively in the half, shooting just 31 percent (9-for-29) from the field, but went 9-for-9 from the charity stripe and outrebounded Grace, 19-12. Davis led all scorers with nine points with Edwards tallying eight while Franklin Lindsey led all players with six rebounds.

Watkins got the second half started with a bang, draining a long-range three-pointer to give the Orange and Black a two-point lead, their largest of the contest. Grace followed with seven unanswered points to go up by five, but the Warriors continued to fight, as a Davis jumper started a 7-1 run putting Tech back in front, 39-38. The home team scored the next four points, but three Franklin Lindsey free throws tied the score yet again. The Lancers hit a jumper with 13:12 to play to retake the lead for good; however, it wasn't without drama as they never led by more than three points in the final minutes of the contest.

After Watkins sunk a free throw with six seconds to play, cutting the lead to two, the Lancers gave the Warriors hope, missing one of two foul shots at the other end. Unfortunately, a controversial turnover sealed the win for Grace.

Tech finished the contest 19-for-52 (36.5%) from the field, 5-for-17 (29.4%) from behind the arc and 24-for-28 (85.7%) from the charity stripe while also collecting 32 rebounds, 13 on the offensive glass. On the defensive end, the Lancers connected on 42.6 percent (23-for-54) of their shots while grabbing 27 boards.

Davis finished with a game-high 20 points, falling one rebound shy of a double-double with nine. Edwards scored 15 for Tech with Watkins and Lindsey each adding 10.

"Grace is a solid team and do a lot of things well," said Tech Head Coach John Peckinpaugh. "We dug ourselves in an early hole, but the guys did a really good job of staying in the game and battling back. We have made a lot of improvement this season and if they guys continue to buy-in and practice hard every day we will be able to get over the hump and start beating some of the better competition we face this season."

The Warriors return to Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference play when they travel to Grand Rapids, Mich. on Saturday, Dec. 13 to face Aquinas College at 3 p.m.

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