LAKE FOREST, Ill. – In its 125-year history, Grinnell College's men's basketball team had never started a season with 13 Midwest Conference victories in its first 14 outings.
 
But that all changed Saturday afternoon, as the Pioneers got out to a quick start before a Senior Day crowd at Lake Forest College on its way to a 104-99 victory.
 
Grinnell kept its MWC title hopes alive, as the 13-1 mark matches that of co-leader Monmouth College. The Pioneers are 18-3 overall, their best start to a season since the 1961-62 campaign. They have won 16 of their last 17 games, with only one loss since mid-November.
 
Saturday's victory gave Grinnell its first regular-season sweep of the Foresters, who fell to 11-4 in the league and 16-8 in all games, since the 2018-19 season.
 
Grinnell trailed early in the 82nd game of the series that dates back to 1959, that being 3-0 right off the bat. Later, after gaining an 11-9 lead, the Pioneers opened things up with a 14-3 run that started with a layup by Nick Lundy '27, 3-pointer from Kai Te Huki '27 and layup by Nick Courtney '26. Following a free throw and bucket by the Foresters, Zach Rosen '26 caught fire with a seven-point spree that included a pair of layups and 3-pointer for a 25-12 lead.
 
Rosen finished the game with a career-high 28 points, making 10-of-15 shots from the field including a 4-of-7 effort from the 3-point arc. He also matched a career-best with nine boards, as did Courtney.
 
Grinnell kept it up from there, building a 59-39 lead by intermission and going ahead by as many as 23 in the second half when a 3-pointer from Tanner Deal '27 put the margin at 72-49 with 15:04 left.
 
But sparked by the enthusiastic home crowd, Lake Forest stormed back into contention and eventually went ahead 96-95 with 2:15 left. But Tyler Copes '29 responded for the Pioneers, scoring from close range with 1:42 remaining to put the visitors back on top.
 
The lead changed hands a few more times, with Rosen getting it back with a layup for a 99-98 Pioneer edge. Grinnell then forced a missed shot by the hosts and, following a timeout, Gabe Garcia '27 converted a layup with :17 for a 101-98 lead. Lake Forest missed again and was forced to foul as Grinnell secured the victory from the line.
 
Te Huki, who like Rosen was 4-of-7 from 3-point land, added 16 points.  Copes also had 16 on perfect 7-of-7 shooting from the field and Garcia was in double digits with 13.
 
Courtney dished out three assists and had two steals, the same steals total as Garcia and Lundy. Copes swatted away five shots. Rosen now ranks ninth in career assists at Grinnell with 283, while Courtney moved up to 13th in career steals with 152.
 
Grinnell closes out the regular season next week, hosting Knox College at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday and traveling to Mount Vernon to play Cornell College next Saturday.