EUREKA, Ill. - Giving an inspired effort the entire way, Grinnell College's men's basketball team nearly overcame a tough Eureka College squad and boisterous home crowd Wednesday night.

But with the score tied 115-all in the late going, the host Red Devils scored the game's final seven points to eke out a 122-115 win.

Jackson Qualley '22 led the way for Grinnell with a double-double, tallying 21 points to go along with a career-high 11 rebounds. Adam Phillips '23 also scored 21 points with the aid of seven 3-pointers, Hannes Kogelnik '21 scored 16, Zachary Stice '21 had 11 and Patrick Simms '22 put in 10. 

Qualley and Stice each had three steals, Simms dished out five assists and had nine rebounds and Will Bebee '22 blocked three shots while Brad Geiman '21 swatted away two. Bebee now ranks 11th in program history for career blocks with 44.

The first half was a back and forth affair, with Eureka taking a 66-61 lead into the locker room at halftime. 

The Red Devils went up by 12 early in the second half at 78-66 before the Pioneers chipped away and made it a two-point game at 91-90 on a trey by Kogelnik with 12:27 left.

Eureka retained control, though, before Kogelnik again stepped up with a 3-pointer at the 8:59 mark to push Grinnell ahead 98-96. From there it was back and forth again, but Grinnell got a boost late when Bebee hit a free throw at the 5:07 mark to put the visitors up by one and Qualley scored in the paint with 4:13 left to make it a 108-105 Grinnell lead.

Eureka followed with a six-point run before Jake Benhart '22 drained a 3-pointer to tie things at 111-all with 3:08 left. Bebee added a layup at the 2:18 mark to make it a two-point Grinnell lead before Eureka tied it at 113-all with 2:04 left. 

Geiman followed with a free throw to put the Pioneers up 114-113 with 1:42 left before the hosts went up by a point with two free throws with 53 seconds left. Simms was fouled 11 seconds later and made one of two free throws to make it 115-all.

However, the hosts then came up with a traditional three-point play to take the lead for good. Grinnell missed two shots down the stretch and the Red Devils tacked on four more points to secure the win and improve to 2-1.

Grinnell, 0-3, returns to Darby Gymnasium Saturday to face Great Lakes Christian College of Lansing, Mich. Game time is 1 p.m.