WINONA LAKE, Ind. — Demarkus Stuckey's 24-point second half sparked a comeback, but the comeback came up nine points short Tuesday night as the Goshen College men's basketball team dropped a 76-67 decision to Grace College.

The Maple Leafs shot 55 percent in the second half to trim Grace's lead from 9 points at halftime to 1 with 6:17 remaining, but the Lancers scored the next 5 points and picked up the win at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.

Colton Noel added 17 points and Austin Branagan 10 for the Maple Leafs (6-19, 0-13 Crossroads League). Each player added a team-high 6 rebounds while Stuckey grabbed 5 to go with 4 assists.

Grace (12-13, 2-11) put four players in double figures, getting a game-high 23 points from Charlie Warner and a double-double behind 20 points and 10 rebounds from Logan Godfrey. Cody Holmes scored 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting and Haden Deaton added 11.

As northern Indiana experiences some of its coldest temperatures on record, prompting the game to be moved ahead 24 hours from its scheduled Wednesday date, the teams turned in first-half shooting numbers to match. Stuckey and Branagan were the only players to connect from long-range before retreating to the locker rooms as the two offenses combined for a 14 percent first-half clip from distance.

After leading by 4 or 6 points for much of the half, Grace finished on a 5-0 run and took a 34-25 lead into the intermission.

Stuckey dropped 10 of the Maple Leafs' first 13 points of the second half, pulling his team back within 44-39 at the 14:03 mark and adding another triple two minutes later to cut the deficit to 4. In a half that featured 84 combined points, though, the Lancers answered with their own scores on both occasions to stretch the lead back out to 7.

The Maple Leafs' closest approach to the lead may have come in the second half, but first-half hero Noel made it happen with four straight points on back-to-back possessions. The sophomore had scored 11 points before the break to lead all scorers.

Godfrey sank a pair of foul shots 21 seconds later, part of a 14-of-20 Lancer mark at the line in the second half, and a Warner 3-pointer with 5:07 left turned what had been a 55-54 Grace lead into a 60-54 one. The hosts would not defend another one-possession lead.

The Lancers shot 48 percent from the floor in the second half, although Goshen held Grace to a 2-for-14 mark from long distance for the game. Goshen was 4-for-9 from the 3-point arc in the second half.

Neither team had turnover issues, with both teams staying in single digits, but Grace finished with 25 assists on 29 baskets to Goshen's 9 on 26. Braxton Linville led all players with 7 dimes.

Stuckey and Jaret Sons each finished with 3 steals.

Up Next: Goshen returns home Saturday with a chance to knock off the number-one team in NAIA Division II as Indiana Wesleyan University comes calling in Gunden Gymnasium. Tip-off is set for approximately 3 p.m. after a women's game at 1.