Taylor Unable to Slow No. 14 Grace in Crossroads League Defeat

UPLAND, Ind. – After hanging with the defending Crossroads League champs for the first 33 minutes, Taylor was unable to stop No. 14 Grace in the final seven minutes in a hard-fought 88-76 loss inside Odle Arena on Saturday afternoon.

A fast-paced first half began with both teams trading buckets, with six lead changes in the first five minutes and Taylor knotted with Grace (8-3, 3-1 CL) at 13.

The Lancers scored the next five points, and TU got it within a possession four times until another run by Grace pushed the lead to 30-24 with just under five minutes remaining.

The Trojans went on an 8-2 run to tie it at 32, capped by a triple from Kaden Fuhrmann, before a bucket by the Lancers gave them a slim two-point lead at halftime.

The squads began the second stanza in similar fashion to the first, with both getting hot on offense, although Grace slowly extended the lead to 52-45 at the 12:33 mark.

Levin Smith came off the bench and had a terrific run of play to lead TU on an 11-6 run to trim the deficit to two. The freshman seven-footer provided a pair of assists and hit a shot from beyond the arc until foul trouble forced him off the floor.

Taylor (8-3, 2-2 CL) continued to work and got within a point after a pair of free throws from Izaiah Day with 7:33 left in the game.

Grace's offense took over from that point, making its final six shots from the field and converting on 10 of 13 attempts from the charity stripe to put the game out of reach.

Anton Webb continues to put up big numbers for the Trojans, leading the squad with 17 points and eight rebounds. The senior standout added three takeaways, a block, and a steal despite playing just 23 minutes. Fuhrmann and Nate Paarlberg joined Webb in double figures with 16 and 14, respectively.

Taylor takes a break from Crossroads League play and heads on the road to face Holy Cross (4-5) on Wednesday, December 11, with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 pm.