GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - For the first time in 17 days Cornerstone returns to the floor as they continue their season long road trip vs two different Grace opponents. The week will begin locally at Grace Christian on Tuesday at 7 p.m. and will be followed by a trip to number seven Grace College in Indiana on Thursday at 5 p.m. To watch this week's action, check out the link HERE, or follow the team live on social media at @cornerstoneMBB.
First Time in 17 Days
Head Coach Kim Elders and the Golden Eagles wrap up their longest stretch without a game, going 17 days since their tough 77-62 loss at Lourdes. CU shot a season low from behind the arc with Cory Ainsworth and Carter Nyp leading the way with 15 points each. Cornerstone will pick up with two non-conference games this week as they look to improve upon their 10-5, 5-2 WHAC record at Grace Christian in Wyoming, Michigan before traveling to NAIA number seven Grace College in Winona Lake, Indiana on Thursday, December 30.
Lancer Struggles
Grace College is one of just 43 schools according to Golden Eagle recordable program history that CU has a losing record against, goign 11-13 all-time. Of the 43 teams CU has a losing record against, 23 of those are 0-1 records. Head Coach Kim Elders is 7-5 against the Lancers, but has lost four of the last six including a one point loss the last time the two teams met back in 2009.
Milestone Check
Three Golden Eagles continue to inch closer to major milestones. Redshirt senior Christian Rodriguez is at 1835 career points, senior Carter Nyp is at 828 career points, and junior Cory Ainsworth is at 779 career points.
History vs. Grace Christian
Cornerstone has had much better success against Grace Christian, going 37-7 all-time. CU has won the last nine straight and last lost in 2009, 82-68.
Scouting Grace Christian
Grace Christian comes into the game with Cornerstone with an 8-6 record overall as they are a member of the NCCAA DII and compete out of Wyoming, Michigan. Grace has fallen in every game this year that has been against an NAIA foe as they have a very young roster with seven freshmen on the team. The Tigers are one of the best in the NCCAA, coached by legend Gary Bailey who has led GCU to six National Titles, most recently in 2019. Statistically, Grace is very balanced with six players averaging 13+ points per game and six players averaging above four rebounds per game.
Scouting Grace
The Lancers are a team that compete in the gauntlet that is the Crossroads League and after starting the year unranked and projected to finish fourth in their league they have managed to coast past nearly everyone they have played starting the year 13-0. The start shot them up the national ranks putting them at seventh in the latest NAIA Top 25 poll. Last time out however, Grace suffered their first loss at receiving votes Southeastern down in Florida. Statistically, there is not much Grace does wrong, as they rank best in the nation as a team with a .551 field goal percentage. The team is also third in the NAIA in three-point percentage at .403 as they average 84.9 points per game. The scary part, is the Lancers are doing this with incredible youth with nine freshmen on the roster. Six of the top seven leading scorers on the team are freshmen, with sophomore Frankie Davidson leading all scorers at 24.5 PPG.
