GRINNELL, Iowa – Playing in front of an enthusiastic Senior Day crowd, the Grinnell College men's basketball team delivered in Saturday's 2016-17 finale.
 
Battling hard in the physical contest, the Pioneers held off various runs by Illinois College to earn a 110-94 victory at Darby Gymnasium.
 
The win was the fifth in a row for the Pioneers, who finished the campaign with a 16-7 mark. Only 11 Grinnell teams in the program's 117-year history have won at least 16 games.
 
Julian Marx '17 ended a storied career with a game-high 29 points while sinking 10-of-11 free throws, making him Grinnell's all-time leader in free throw percentage at 89.1 percent (156-of-175).
 
He finished second all-time in 3-point percentage (42.5 percent), fourth in 3-pointers made (376) and 10th in points (1,554). His free throw percentage this season of 92.1 percent is the second-best ever for a season at Grinnell. Teammate Ikaika Phillip finished the season shooting 90.9 percent from the line, which ranks third in Pioneer history.
 
Vinny Curta '19 added 20 points and five assists and Ky-Sean Johnson '19 poured in 16 points.

Curta finished the season with 175 made free throws and 226 attempts, which each rank fourth for a season in program history.
 
Griffin Boehm '19 grabbed nine rebounds and Nick Curta '17 sewed up a solid career with six boards and two blocks. Noah Jacobson '20 had a career-high four steals and Nathan Balcom '18 came up with three.
 
With the team's four seniors and Vinny Curta starting the game, the Pioneers gave the crowd something to cheer about immediately when Mike Porter '17 drained a 3-pointer.
 
After a turnover by Illinois College, Jermaine Marks '17 made a dent in the scorebook. Playing the first game of his collegiate career after serving as a student-coach for the team, Marks drilled a 3-pointer, bringing thunderous approval from the fans as Grinnell took a 6-0 lead.
 
A bit later Vinny Curta made a free throw for a seven-point Grinnell lead.
 
Illinois College, 8-15 on the season, kept pace for a while and trailed 18-12 when Grinnell opened things up with an 11-2 run. Johnson made a layup and Vinny Curta a trey to make it 23-12.
 
After a Blueboy basket, Vinny Curta converted a basket and free throw and Balcom buried a 3-pointer to make it 29-14 with 14:27 left in the half.
 
The Blueboys rallied to within nine points later in the half, but a late run gave the Pioneers a 63-45 lead at intermission.
 
Illinois College had spurts in the second half and came within five when Johnson halted the rally with a 3-pointer.
 
The Blueboys made another charge later, coming within 90-83 with 5:24 remaining when Grinnell shut the door with a 9-2 run. A 3-pointer by Balcom and two free throws each from Marx, Vinny Curta and Ikaika Phillip '18 put the Pioneers ahead 99-85 with 4:22 left.
 
Grinnell cruised to victory from there.
 
"I'm proud of the team, and our senior leadership this season was as good as a coach could ever hope for," said Grinnell interim coach David Arseneault Jr.  "Tonight's game wasn't easy, and in a lot of ways wassymbolic of what this group has done. We made plays when we needed to, never gave up and figured out a way to get the job done."