GRINNELL, Iowa – The Grinnell College men's basketball team saw a furious comeback fall just short as Beloit College eked out a 118-115 victory Saturday afternoon in the Pioneers' Midwest Conference opener at Darby Gymnasium.
 
Grinnell's balanced scoring attack was led by Julian Marx '17, who had 23 points. Braedon Bayer '18 added 21 points with the aid of 5-of-7 shooting from 3-point range, Matt Jasaitis '18 tallied 20, Vinny Curta '19 had 16 and Jacob Ekstrand '18 poured in 12.
 
Marx also had five assists and three steals. Jasaitis and Danny Thomas '18 came up with three steals, as well, while Jake Van Oort '18 grabbed four rebounds.
 
Beloit jumped out to a 61-44 halftime lead and went ahead by 19 points with 6:07 remaining. It was still a 14-point game at the 4:06 mark when the Pioneers stormed back with a 19-4 run. Bayer and Ekstrand each had two treys during the spurt, Jasaitis added a 3-pointer and layup, and Thomas a basket for a 113-112 Grinnell lead with 1:30 left.
 
Beloit followed with a five-point run. Curta then hit a layup with :24 left, but Beloit finished off the scoring with a free throw.
 
Grinnell is 0-1 in the league and 3-3 overall, while Beloit moved to 1-1 in MWC play and 2-2 in all games.
 
The Pioneers take on Cornell College at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Mount Vernon.