GRINNELL, Iowa – In a game befitting a matchup of the league's top teams, Grinnell College and Monmouth College gave fans a thrilling show in men's basketball action Wednesday at Darby Gymnasium.
 
Monmouth forced a three-way tie atop the Midwest Conference standings before an enthusiastic crowd, edging the Pioneers 102-99. Both teams are 6-2 in the league, as is Cornell College.
 
The 13-4 Pioneers trailed 50-43 at halftime and played catchup early in the second half, eventually taking a 61-60 lead on Nick Lundy's '27 basket at the 14:28 mark. A 3-pointer by Kai Te Huki '27 later broke a tie for a 67-63 Grinnell cushion, and another trey by Sean Murphy '26 put the Pioneers ahead by six.
 
But the 12-5 Fighting Scots came back, going ahead by six on a handful of occasions. It was still a five-point lead with 4:55 left, but Te Huki brought the home crowd to its feet with a 3-pointer and Harris Dar '28 sank a free throw to make it 88-87.  After a bucket by Monmouth, Te Huki forced a tie at the 3:30 mark with a 3-pointer.
 
Monmouth later went up by three, but Tolu Johnson '25 hit a tip-in to cut the Fighting Scots' lead to 93-92 with 1:57 left. Monmouth caught a break by banking in a 3-pointer for a 96-92 lead with 57 seconds left. The visitors sank critical free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.
 
Te Huki led a charge of five Grinnell players in double figures with 28 points, including eight 3-pointers. Dar added 19 points, Gabe Garcia '27 had 14 and Lundy and John Vincent '26 added 12 apiece. Johnson grabbed seven rebounds and had a career-best four steals to go along with two blocks. Garcia dished out five assists and Vincent blocked three shots. Jackson Leone '25 moved up to sixth on Grinnell's single-season steals chart with his 63^rd.
 
Grinnell is on the road this weekend, facing Ripon College at 3 p.m. Saturday.