Moments later, the Leafs regrouped and captured an 11-10 lead.

If only the team could have stopped Grace’s next push.

The Lancers used a 71 percent, first-half shooting clip to surge to a 53-40 lead at halftime, outscoring Goshen (8-9, 1-4) by a 31 to 18 difference in the half’s final 10 minutes to salt away what could have been a tight affair. With the score knotted at 22-22 and exactly 10 minutes remaining on the clock, it was Grace that pushed ahead late, turning a 35-29 lead with 7:12 remaining into a 13-point margin at the intermission.

Despite a slightly better second-half performance from Goshen, the damage had been done: Grace continued to shoot at an extremely reliable percentage (18 of 31 from the field in the second half, 58.1 percent) and cruised to the 17-point win.

“I thought that the beginning of the game we played decent,” said Goshen head coach Stan Daugherty. “It wasn't good, but it wasn't bad either. The key to the game was the last six minutes of the first half. We were down six points and in a position to finish the half well. We had our starters in the game for the most part and we just played with no purpose or with little effort on defense. We took some bad shots and then we didn't defend well. This stretch resulted in a 13-point deficit that was difficult to overcome.”

Goshen’s troubles occurred on both ends of the floor in the first period, as Grace’s 71 percent heat wave from the floor (the Lancers made 22 of 31 total shots) was the highest field goal percentage Daugherty’s squad has given up in any half this season. The Lancers’ overall 64.5 percent shooting performance was also the highest clip allowed on the year from Goshen, as the Leafs’ reasonable shooting clip (30 of 64 from the field overall, 46.9 percent) was nowhere near enough for a shoot-out with Grace.

“The first half was a combination of Grace shooting the ball extremely well, and us not doing a whole lot to disrupt them,” said Cory Furman, Goshen assistant coach. “We allowed them too many open shots, and after that the contested ones got that much easier to make.”

Goshen was able to cut the Lancer lead to 11 points on several occasions in the second period, but missed shots and not enough defensive stops kept things from getting any closer.

“In the second half we played hard at times, but never put together any good stretches of basketball,” Daugherty said. “Grace is such a good team offensively that if you don't guard them well they really make you pay. I thought Grace played well but I was disappointed in our effort from both a mental and a physical standpoint. I hope that this game will teach us the importance of mental preparation for every conference game. I do believe that the layoff from classes is beginning to wear on us so it will be good to get back in class and have a routine from day to day.”

Freshman Errick McCollum paced Goshen’s offensive efforts, scoring 16 points on a seven of 11 shooting clip from the field. Junior Brice Hartman added 12 on a five for 14 effort, while senior Willie Frazier scored 11 and grabbed seven rebounds. Freshman Nate West scored 10 and collected five caroms; senior Matt Crawford scored eight points while senior David Haire and sophomore Sam Boldman each scored five points.

Goshen will return to the Roman Gingerich Center on Tuesday night, as MCC rival Taylor University will visit following a bye date on Saturday. Tuesday’s game is set for a 7 p.m. tip-off.