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David Bluder
Cory Hall
93
Grinnell College GCM 2-2,0-0 Midwest
95
Winner Wartburg WAARM 2-0,0-0 American
Grinnell College GCM
2-2,0-0 Midwest
93
Final
95
Wartburg WAARM
2-0,0-0 American
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Grinnell College GCM 45 48 93
Wartburg WAARM 42 53 95

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Ted Schultz

Grinnell rally falls just short in men's basketball loss at Wartburg

WAVERLY, Iowa - Grinnell College's men's basketball team laid it all on the line, and in the end nearly came away with its first win at Wartburg College in 11 years.

The Pioneers rallied from an eight-point deficit with just under three minutes remaining and had the ball at the end to either get the win or force a tie, but a few oh-so-close misses allowed the hosts to slip away with a 95-93 win at Levick Arena.

Grinnell (3-2) featured a balanced scoring attack led by Aiden Gilbert '23, who had 19 points. David Bluder '25 poured in 17, while Patrick Simms '22 and Will Bebee '22 tallied 12 apiece. Bluder and Gilbert each hit six treys.

Bebee was tops on the team in rebounding with nine, Will Lasater '25 added two blocks and Simms and Gilbert had four assists each. Simms and Bebee each had four steals. As a team, Grinnell's 16 steals were a season-high.

The first half was a back and forth affair, with Grinnell holding a 45-42 lead at intermission. Gilbert's traditional three-point play with 11:11 left in the game gave Grinnell its final lead of 62-59. Wartburg followed with a 10-0 run to go up by seven.

Wartburg (2-0) pushed its lead to 11 at 81-70 with just under six minutes left, and still held a seemingly-comfortable 90-81 lead with 2:58 remaining.

Gilbert then hit a free throw and Bluder a 3-pointer to help the visitors pull within five. Following a Wartburg basket, Gilbert made a layup to make it 92-87 with 1:37 left. The Knights hit two free throws at the 1:22 mark to go ahead by seven, but Gilbert responded with a layup with 1:05 left to make it 94-89.

After a Knight free throw, Bluder made a layup, the Pioneers forced a turnover and Bebee slammed down a dunk to make it 95-93 with 30 seconds left. 

Grinnell then forced another turnover with 18 ticks left to set up a last look, but a 3-point try and close-range shot were barely off the mark as Wartburg eked out the win.

The Pioneers open Midwest Conference play Saturday at home against Lake Forest College. Tip-off in Darby Gymnasium is slated for 3 p.m.
 
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