GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Golden Eagles held a 10-point lead at the half, dominating the inside against an undefeated (2) Grace College, but were outscored 42-27 in the second half to fall 69-64. CU could not break the strong defense of the Lancers as they fall to 8-3 on the year, while Grace moves to 11-0. Cornerstone will return to WHAC play on Saturday vs. Siena Heights at 3 p.m. for their next game. 

Game Flow

• The length of Grace got to the Golden Eagles early as they were held to just two points in the first two and a half minutes of the game. 
• Cornerstone had some good defense of their own though, as they stayed close early. Toby Woolcock in his first start of the year would hit an and-one bucket at the 16:14 mark to cut the Golden Eagle deficit to 9-8. 
• The Lancers responded with a 7-0 run capped off by a Jakob Gibbs three to take a 16-8 advantage. 
• CU started to find the three-point line, as Eli Steffen hit a pair and Luke Rowlinson dropped one to cut the deficit back to one at 18-17 with 9:45 to play in the half. 
• Connor Dykema later hit a layup to give CU their first lead of the game. 
• Cornerstone continued to defend the paint well late in the first half holding the big man Elijah Malone to just three points on 1-4 shooting. With the game tied at 22, Cornerstone would score seven in a row, highlighted by a three from Toby Woolcock to lead 29-22. 
• With 50 seconds to play, big Luke Vanderwerff hit a layup to put CU on top by 10 for their largest lead so far in the game, 37-27 going into the break. 
• Out of the half, Luke Rowlinson hit a mid-range jumper to put Cornerstone on top by 12. 
• The strong Grace squad proved why there were undefeated, starting to chip away at the deficit. Grace used a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to 41-37 on a pair of free throws. 
• After Grace cut it to just one, Eli Steffen hit a huge late shot clock jumper with 12:41 to play to lead 45-42. 
• Cornerstone remained up by one to three points for much of the second half, using the free throw line to stay ahead. 
• The big man Elijah Malone would give Grace their first lead of the second half on a pair of free throws to make it 58-56. 
• Cornerstone was then held scoreless by the Lancer defense for the next two minutes to move their lead to 60-56. 
• After Cory Ainsworth cut it back to two with two more free throws, Brycen Graber hit the dagger with a deep three-ball to put Grace back up by five. 
• Zac Velthouse in the final moments got the crowd back into it with a three to bring the score to 65-63, but Grace broke the press when CU needed to foul and secured an easy layup to go back up by two possessions. 
• Grace would make their free throws and hold on to win 69-64. 

 
By the Numbers 
39.3 – Cornerstone was held under 40% from the field for the first time this season at 39.3. 
16/9 – Cory Ainsworth led CU with 16 points and nine rebounds. 
18 – Of Grace's 69 points, only 18 came inside the paint. 
 
What's Next? 
Cornerstone returns to WHAC play on Saturday at 3 p.m. as they host Siena Heights. 
 
Men's Basketball Contact: Jesse Campbell
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