Warriors Fall to Grace to Finish Hawaii Holiday Classic

The Nelson Warriors' Men's Basketball team (7-9) closed the "Hoops in Hawaii" Holiday Classic with a gut-wrenching 74-72 loss to undefeated Grace College (13-0), pushing the Lancers to their closest margin of victory this season, previously 12 points, and a dominant average winning margin 22.92 points entering the contest.

After a sluggish offensive showing in the opener, Nelson came out sharp in the first half, a sizzling 54.8% from the field and a season-best 6-of-11 from deep to build an eight-point halftime edge. Orlando Gonzales provided the first half exclamation point, draining a triple with 14 seconds left to send the Warriors into the locker room up 43-35, and the audience to the concession stands sensing a potential upset.

Unfortunately for the Warriors, the second half did not go quite as well as had the first half. Grace steadily chipped away, flipping the lead and stretching it to a game-high 10 points (72-62) with 3:29 remaining as the Lancers caught fire at 59.3% shooting over the final 20 minutes. Nelson, meanwhile, cooled considerably, connecting on just 11-of-31 from the floor and 3-of-12 from three.

But the Warriors refused to go quietly into the humid Hawaiian night. Fueled by a true Warriors spirit, the Nelson men ripped off a 10-2 run to claw within two points and earn a final possession with 12 seconds left following a Luke Bricker missed free throw on the front-end of a one-and-one, the carom snagged by Keron Bailey (9points, 5 rebounds).

After a timeout with 9.3 ticks left on the clock in regulation, Bailey inbounded the pass to Gonzales only to receive it again at the right corner arc, quickly attacking the defender, driving towards the baseline for a shot under the hoop to force overtime, only for Grace's Michael Wellman to rise above him for a clutch block. The ball fluttered harmlessly into the hands of Gage Sefton, who dribbled out the last second to preserve the Lancer win.

Zoe Holman led all scorers with 20 points, while Orlando Gonzales scored 16 and Calvin Windley finished with 10 points and 8 rebounds.

Gage Sefton led Grace with 25 points and 5 rebounds, while Ian Raasch and Micharl Wellman each had 13.

The Nelson Warriors return home on December 30 to take on Justice.

Do not forget to follow Nelson Athletics on X at @NelsonWarriors and Instagram at @nelsonwarriors.athletics.

Merry Christmas and may God Bless you and yours!