Upset Bid Denied in Overtime Defeat Against No. 12 Grace

WINONA LAKE, Ind. – Taylor (12-11, 5-8 CL) forced overtime against No. 12 Grace (19-4, 11-2 CL) on Wednesday night, only to fall short in a 90-84 defeat against the Crossroads League leaders.

Anton Webb went to the free-throw line with two seconds remaining in regulation, with everything on the line, and split a pair to send the game into the extra period with the teams all square at 74.

Overtime began with the Lancers scoring the first eight points, which put the Trojan behind the eight ball. Webb scored the next eight points for TU in an 8-2 run to put the deficit at two with less than a minute left and give the Trojans a chance. After a layup by Grace, Chaz Harvey missed a triple, and Taylor never got within a possession again.

Jackson Ullom hit a huge shot from beyond the arc with under 70 seconds to give TU its final lead of the contest at 73-71 as the junior added 11 points, three rebounds, and a pair of assists and steals.

The Crossroads League foes went back and forth in the second half, with neither team leading by more than four and no more than three in the final ten minutes of action.

Webb was a force to be reckoned with in the second half, scoring 20 of his team-high 34 points and grabbing seven of his 12 rebounds. The standout senior shot 14-22 from the field and was 3-4 from beyond the arc, hitting the most triples in a game in his career.

Everyone in the starting lineup scored nine or more points, including Kaden Fuhrmann, who surpassed 1,600 career points and currently sits in 16th in career points at Taylor. 

The Trojans shot 17 fewer free throws and were outrebounded by three, but an incredibly efficient second half saw TU shoot over 65 percent from three-point land and 53.6 percent from the field, but it wasn't quite enough to complete the upset.

Taylor heads home to play Spring Arbor (15-8, 7-6 CL) on Saturday, February 8, on Senior Day, with festivities taking place before the game set to tip-off at 3:00 pm inside Odle Arena.