GRINNELL, Iowa – Just when a boost was needed, the Grinnell College men's basketball team responded.
 
The Pioneers used a late run to hold off Simpson College 112-104 Tuesday night in Darby Gymnasium. The win, Grinnell's first in three tries against an Iowa Conference team this season, moved the hosts' record to 3-2 while the Storm dipped to 4-2.
 
Grinnell trailed by five points with 3:59 to go before erupting with a big eight-point run. Vinny Curta '19 began it with a layup at the 3:51 mark, Julian Marx '17 tied things with a 3-pointer 42 seconds later and Mike Porter '17 brought the crowd to its feet with a trey at the 2:54 mark to put the Pioneers ahead 101-98.
 
Simpson responded with a 6-1 run to take a 104-102 lead, but Jacob Ekstrand '18 gave Grinnell the lead for good with a 3-pointer at the 1:24 mark.
 
After a miss by Simpson, Ekstrand kept up his hot hand with another trey at the 1:04 mark to make it a four-point lead. Porter then got a steal and Curta was fouled. He made both shots to make it 110-104 with 21 seconds left.
 
Curta finished off the scoring with two more charity shots with 10 ticks remaining.
 
Curta, who drained 12-of-14 free throws, had a team-high 28 points. Also in double digits were Marx with 17, Ekstrand with 15 and Sean Cullinane '18 with 10.
 
Ekstrand grabbed a career-high six rebounds and added three steals. Nathan Balcom 18 came up with a career-high four steals.
 
The Pioneers open Midwest Conference play Friday when Beloit College visits Darby Gymnasium. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.