MONMOUTH, Ill. - Grinnell College's men's basketball team got out to a fast start against Monmouth College Wednesday night, but the Fighting Scots bounced back to post a 116-88 win in Midwest Conference action.
Vinny Curta '19 led the Pioneers with 18 points, four assists and three steals. He also moved into the program's career top 10 for steals with 158 while moving up to sixth in field goals (626) and eighth in field goals attempted (1,321).
Brad Geiman '21 added a career-high 11 points while also grabbing six rebounds and blocking two shots.
Ky-Sean Johnson '19 and
Jackson Qualley '22 had 10 points each, while Qualley also had four assists and
Patrick Simms '22 three steals.
Grinnell, 5-1 in the MWC and 9-3 overall, shot out to a 9-4 lead as
Derek Jones '22 drained a 3-pointer and Curta, Johnson and Geiman each made baskets. After Monmouth rallied and was up by five, the Pioneers came back with a free throw by
Hannes Kogelnik '21 and treys by Jones and
Tyler Grumhaus '21 for a 22-20 lead.
The teams went back and forth for a bit, with the Pioneers taking their final lead at 29-27 on a 3-pointer by
Zachary Stice '21 with 9:20 left in the half. The game was later tied at 31-all before the Fighting Scots went on a critical 17-2 run on their way to building a 57-44 halftime lead. Monmouth kept it up in the second half to improve to 2-3 in the MWC and 4-8 in all games.
Grinnell is on the road again Saturday, facing Ripon College at 3 p.m.
