DE PERE, Wis. – Grinnell College's men's basketball team shot out to a fast start Saturday afternoon against St. Norbert College in a key Midwest Conference matchup.
The Pioneers broke out to an 11-point lead in the first eight minutes, but the Green Knights rebounded and came away with a 116-97 victory in a game pitting the league's top two teams.
Vinny Curta '19 and
Jackson Qualley '19 led the Pioneers with 20 points apiece. Curta also had two assists and Qualley two steals.
Hannes Kogelnik '21 added 15 points, while
Patrick Simms '22 tallied 14 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Will Bebee '22 added five rebounds for the Pioneers, who are 13-3 in the MWC and 17-5 overall.
Griffin Boehm '19 and
Tyler Grumhaus '21 added two assists each,
Will Dubow '21 blocked two shots and
Christian Brookens '22 added two steals.
After falling behind 3-0, the Pioneers went to work with a 15-3 run.
Zachary Stice '21, Curta and Kogelnik hit consecutive 3-pointers for a 9-3 lead. After St. Norbert got a free throw, Stice again hit a trey. A St. Norbert layup was countered by Boehm's 3-pointer, making it 15-6 at the 16:34 mark.
Later Grinnell stretched its lead to 11 when a layup by Simms at the 13:55 mark made it 19-8. However, the Green Knights slowly crept back and tied it before Grinnell got the lead back at 35-32 on a Kogelnik 3-pointer.
After St. Norbert took the lead, Grinnell went up for the final time at 37-36 on a layup by Dubow. St. Norbert followed with the pivotal run of the day, a 12-0 spurt to make it 48-37. The Green Knights, 15-1 in the MWC and 17-6 overall, built their lead to 57-45 by halftime.
Grinnell got as close as seven in the second half when a free throw by Simms made it 85-78 with 9:52 left. But the Green Knights followed with a five-point run and never looked back.
During the game, Curta moved up in three categories on Grinnell's all-time season list. He is now second in both free throws made and attempted in a season with 191 and 241, respectively, and 10th in assists with 128.
As a team, the Pioneers' 457 3-poitners this season rank eighth all-time, and the 861 field goals and 478 assists are each 10th.
Grinnell heads to Beloit College Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. contest, then host Senior Day next Saturday when Lake Forest College visits Darby Gymnasium.
