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Zach Rosen
Justin Hayworth/Grinnell College
97
Grinnell GC 20-8,11-5 Midwest Conference
125
Winner Wis.-Platteville UWP 26-2,13-1 WIAC
Grinnell GC
20-8,11-5 Midwest Conference
97
Final
125
Wis.-Platteville UWP
26-2,13-1 WIAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Grinnell GC 34 63 97
Wis.-Platteville UWP 71 54 125

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Ted Schultz

Grinnell goes down fighting in first trip to NCAA D-III Tournament in 24 years

Pioneers lose to 3rd-ranked UW-Platteville

Postgame News Conference

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. - Though Grinnell College's first trip to the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament in 24 years didn't turn out as the Pioneers had hoped, they can take pride in the fact they went down fighting.

After falling behind 71-34 to third-ranked University of Wisconsin-Platteville Friday night at Bo Ryan Court, Grinnell got in sync in the second half. The visitors outscored UW-Platteville 63-54 in the final 20 minutes as the hosts came away with a 125-97 victory.

Grinnell was ice cold from the field in the opening half, hitting just 29.3 percent of its shots while only going 20 percent from 3-point land. UW-Platteville was 73.5 percent from the field in the same span while shooting 53.8 percent from beyond the arc.

Grinnell's shooting percentage improved to 47.7 percent in the second half, including a 48.0 percent rate from 3-point land by making 12-of-25 of those shots.

Kai Te Huki '27 overcame a tough first half to finish with 24 points, including six treys. He now ranks 18th in program history with 1,279 points. Strahinja Nikolic '27 added a career-high 15 points, the same total as Gabe Garcia '27. Jordan Lee '27 was also in double figures with 12.

Lee added six rebounds and five assists, while Te Huki posted four steals. UW-Platteville, which held a 49-36 edge in rebounds, had three players each score 19 points - Brady Olson, Logan Pearson and Miles Hettinger.

Grinnell, which set a school record for victories this season while finishing 20-8, dug an 8-2 hole right off the bat and the hosts gradually pulled away.

UW-Platteville extended its lead in the second half, going up by 45 before the visitors gradually chipped away. Grinnell got the lead under 30 when Mitch Priest '25 made a 3-pointer at the 3:09 mark and got as close as 24 on Jackson Leone's '25 3-pointer with just under a minute to play.

UW-Platteville, which improved to 26-2, will host Wisconsin Lutheran University Saturday night.

As a team, Grinnell set a season school record Friday with 1,053 field goals while finishing with 3,097 points, second all-time.
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