No. 23 Taylor Fades Late in a Top-25 Battle Against No. 1 Grace
January 24, 2026

No. 23 Taylor Fades Late in a Top-25 Battle Against No. 1 Grace

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UPLAND, Ind. – No. 23 Taylor (16-4, 8-2 CL) battle No. 1 Grace before fading in the second half of a top-25 matchup inside Odle Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Carson Gould notched his first collegiate double-double with ten points and 11 assists, while adding four rebounds and three steals in an outstanding display for the freshman point guard.

Taylor gained an early advantage at 7-5 after five quick points by Pete Combs and a layup by Anthony McGhee. TU held the advantage until Michael Wellman hit his second of three triples in the opening half to take their first lead of the day 18-16.

Nathan Baker came in off the bench and poured in three quick layups and a McGhee three pushed the Trojans to a 25-20 lead. Baker's energy led to three offensive boards and a 6-0 advantage on second chance points in the first half for TU.

The offense cooled and Grace (20-0, 10-0), the lone undefeated team in the NAIA, went on a 11-5 run to finish the half and take a 43-40 lad into the locker room.

Seven first half assists from Gould led Grace to switch their defense and force the guard to become a scorer and he obliged with the first eight points for Taylor after the break as TU trailed by a pair a 52-50.

Shortly after the Trojan offense went scoreless for over five minutes as No. 1 Grace built a double-digit lead 65-55, which the Lancers kept above ten the rest of the way.

After leading the rebounds 15-12 in the first half Grace dominated the boards in the second to hold a 38-30 advantage at the end of the contest. Baker led Taylor with seven rebounds and added ten points, two blocks, two assists, and one steal.

No. 23 Taylor travels across the county to play rival No. 11 Indiana Wesleyan (16-3, 6-3 CL) on the road on Wednesday, January 28th, tipping at 7:00 pm in the annual Hoops for Hope game.