GRINNELL, IA – Home sweet home, best describes the effect on the Grinnell men's basketball team as they used over 50 percent 3-point to down Monmouth, 127-75, on Saturday at Darby Gymnasium.
On the afternoon the Pioneers netted 28-of-54 from 3-point range.
The Pioneers opened the scoring by jumping out to an 11-4 lead but the Scots worked back to grab a 15-11 advantage. With three successive 3-pointers,
Adam Phillips started a scoring explosion which saw Grinnell push to a 26-16 margin at the 14:00 mark. Later Phillips finished off a 14-0 run with two treys as Grinnell expanded the lead to 45-23.
Offensive highlights of the first half were 49 percent 3-point shooting as the Pioneers hit 16-of-33. Defensively, the home team forced 26 turnovers en route to a 66-39 lead at the break.
Grinnell went back to work in the second half and
Aiden Gilbert notched the century points at 11:32.
Phillips led the scoring with a career-high 41 points, which included 13-of-17 from 3-point land, and
David Bluder hit for 19 points. Gilbert went 7-of-8 from the field to score 17 points while
Patrick Simms tallied 15 points hitting 4-of-5 shots from deep.
The success was enabled by Grinnell's defensive pressure as they forced Monmouth into 38 turnovers. Leading the way,
Will Bebee grabbed a career-high four steals and five rebounds.
Brady Vest led in rebounding with six boards and
Tolu Johnson blocked a career-best three shots.
The win pushes Grinnell's overall mark to 12-6, including a five-game winning streak. The Pioneers are 6-4 in the Midwest Conference, good for third place.
Next up is a return date on Sunday in Monmouth.
