GRINNELL, Iowa – Senior Day was a good day for the Grinnell College men's basketball team.
 
The Pioneers roared back from an overtime loss to Carroll University three weeks ago, rolling to a 116-87 win Saturday in front of a near-capacity crowd at Darby Gymnasium.
 
Grinnell, riding a five-game winning streak, improved to 10-5 in the Midwest Conference. That is good for a third-place tie, just a half-game out of second place. The Pioneers are 12-8 in all games, while Carroll dipped to 5-10 in the MWC and 8-12 overall.
 
Jack Taylor '15, among the players celebrating Senior Day, erupted for 42 points with the help of 10-of-13 shooting from 3-point land. Luke Yeager '15 added 21 points and Tague Zachary '15 had a game-high five rebounds.
 
Nick Curta '17 and Jake Van Oort '18 added two blocks each, while Jacob Ekstrand '18 had two steals. Kyle Parker '17 dished out five assists.
 
Grinnell shot out to an 11-2 lead before Carroll raced back to within three. The hosts took off again, going up by 13 before settling for a 47-38 halftime lead.
 
The start of the second half is where the hosts exploded, opening with a 12-2 run. Yeager began the spurt with a layup before Mike Porter '17 and Nathan Balcom '18 hit consecutive 3-pointers for a 55-38 lead.
 
After Carroll scored, Braedon Bayer '18 made a trey and Ikaika Phillip '18 a free throw for a 59-40 edge with 17:37 left. The hosts never let the lead get smaller than 17 after that as they cruised to victory.
 
Grinnell is in action again next Saturday at Lake Forest College. Game time is 3 p.m.