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MONMOUTH, Ill. – Grinnell College's men's basketball team has put up an impressive campaign this season, and the Pioneers are excited to continue that positive trend at this weekend's Midwest Conference Tournament.
 
The Pioneers are 18-7 overall, just one victory shy of tying the school record, and 11-5 in league play entering Friday's game with Illinois College. Grinnell is the second seed while the defending MWC champ Blueboys, the third seed, are 17-8 overall and 10-6 in all games. The other semifinal pits tourney host Monmouth College and Lake Forest College. The semifinal winners play at 3 p.m. Saturday for the title and an NCAA Division III Tourney berth.
 
Grinnell split with the Blueboys this season. The Pioneers toppled Illinois College 123-110 on Feb. 1 in Grinnell as Kai Te Huki '27 scored 25 points, Gabe Garcia '27 added 19 and Harris Dar '28 and Jordan Lee '27 tallied 14 apiece. Buzz Ritzel and Josh Harris had 34 and 33 points for Illinois College, respectively, and Seth Doss added a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Ten days later, the Blueboys earned a 109-71 home victory over Grinnell. Garcia and Jackson Leone '25 scored 15 and 10 points for the Pioneers, while Ty Lenhardt scored 34 for the Blueboys and Harris tallied 30.
 
Grinnell ranks first nationally in free throws made per game (20.8) and 3-pointers per game (15.3), second in offensive rebounds per game (19.00), scoring (112.8 points per game), stelas per game (17.2) and turnovers forced (26.80) and third in assists per game (19.7).
 
Individually, Te Huki leads the MWC in scoring with 21.3 points per game and Garcia is third at 19.6. Te Huki also is tops in 3-pointers per game with 3.8, which also ranks among the national leaders. Sean Murphy '26 is third in the MWC in 3-pointers per game with 2.5 and ranks second in 3-point percentage at 38.7 percent. Te Huki is third in trey percentage at 32.4 percent.
 
Garcia and Te Huki are seventh and eighth in field goal percentage (43.6 and 43.5 percent), while Garcia ranks third in free throw percentage (78.9 percent) and Te Huki fifth (76.2 percent). Dar is second in assists (4.9) and Garcia ranks ninth (2.7), while Dar is also fourth in assist-turnover ratio (1.9). John Vincent '26 is fifth in blocked shots at 1.0 per game, while Grinnell holds down the first, third, fourth, seventh and ninth spots in steals with Leone (3.4), Nick Courtney '26 (1.8), Dar (1.7), Garcia (1.5) and Zach Rosen '26 (1.4). Tolu Johnson '25 is eighth in rebounding (6.3 per game).
 
Ritzel ranks fourth in the MWC in scoring with 18.3 points per game and Harris is 10^th at 15.1. Doss ranks fourth in rebounding (7.3) and Ritzel is sixth in free throw percentage (75.8), seventh in 3-pointers per game (2.0) and 10^th in field goal percentage (42.7). Harris is 10^th in 3-pointers per game with 1.8. Doss and Javonte McKenzie are sixth and 10^th in blocked shots with 0.9 and 0.7.

There will be a $5 admission charge to the event for adults and $2 for those 17 and under. All current MWC students, staff and faculty will be admitted free with a valid school ID. Admission will be on a cash basis only.