GRINNELL, Iowa – Grinnell College fell behind in the first half and was never able to fully recover as Monmouth College posted a 118-11 victory over the Pioneers in men's basketball action Tuesday at Darby Gymnasium.
 
The loss sent Grinnell to 8-5 in the Midwest Conference and 11-7 overall, while Monmouth moved to 6-7 in the league and 6-12 in all games.
 
Grinnell's Vinny Curta '19, the MWC Player of the Week, had a hot hand by scoring a game-high 38 points with the help of perfect 11-of-11 free throw shooting and a 13-of-23 performance from the field.
 
Julian Marx '17 added 24 points and three assists while making six treys. Ky-Sean Johnson '19 added 21 points, Nathan Balcom '18 and Jacob Ekstrand '18 came up with two steals each, Mike Porter '17 dished out three assists and Griffin Boehm '19 grabbed six rebounds.
 
Leading by one early in the game, Grinnell shot ahead by eight points as Marx hit a trio of 3-pointers during a 9-2 run for a 19-11 lead.
 
However, the Fighting Scots came back and took the lead for good with a basket at the 9:10 mark for a 29-27 lead.
 
Monmouth was up 61-44 at intermission and continued to pull away in the second half, three times going ahead by 26 points.
 
The Fighting Scots were up 98-80 with under seven minutes to go when the Pioneers kicked into gear, going on a 14-4 run to come within 102-94 with 4:25 left. Curta had eight points during the spurt.
 
 
But Monmouth countered with a five-point run and continued to lead by double digits until the final minute when consecutive baskets by Curta made it 114-107 with 36 seconds left.
 
However, Monmouth hit four free throws down the stretch to secure the win.
 
Next up: Grinnell takes to the road for a game Saturday at Illinois College. The tip is set for 3 p.m.