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Nick Courtney
Meilynn Smith
98
Knox KC 10-14,6-9 Midwest Conference
108
Winner Grinnell GC 19-3,14-1 Midwest Conference
Knox KC
10-14,6-9 Midwest Conference
98
Final
108
Grinnell GC
19-3,14-1 Midwest Conference
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Knox KC 50 48 98
Grinnell GC 56 52 108

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Ted Schultz

Grinnell men remain in hunt for Midwest Conference title with victory over Knox

Pioneers off to best start in program's 125-year history

GRINNELL, Iowa - Grinnell College's men's basketball team remained in the hunt for its first Midwest Conference title since 2009 by taking down Knox College 108-98 in the regular-season home finale Wednesday at Darby Gymnasium.

Grinnell improved to 14-1 in the league and 19-3 overall, giving the Pioneers their best start to a season in the program's 125-year history.  The Pioneers have won 17 of their last 18 games, with just one loss since mid-November.

The Pioneers, who are one victory shy of their season record win total, can claim at least a share of the league title Saturday when they play at Cornell College. Monmouth College, also 14-1 in the conference, plays at Illinois College the same day.

The Pioneers have won six in a row against Knox while stretching their home winning streak against the Prairie Fire to 24 games, dating back to 1999.

The Pioneers rode a fast start by scoring the game's first 18 points in the opening four minutes of Wednesday's game. The entire run consisted of 3-pointers, with Sean Murphy '26 hitting the first two and last two and Tanner Deal '27 and Gabe Garcia '27 adding one apiece.

Knox finally got on the board at the 15:53 mark with a pair of free throws, and gradually cut into the lead over the next several minutes. The Prairie Fire climbed within 38-36 with just over six minutes remaining before Deal broke through with a trey. Tyler Copes '29 followed with a close-range basket and Kingzten Bristol '29 made a layup and free throw to stretch the lead to 46-36 with 4:18 left in the half. Grinnell went into the locker room with a 56-50 cushion.

Like the first half, Grinnell had an explosive start to the second stanza by scoring eight points in a row on a trey by Murphy, layup and free throw from Luka Pinto '29 and layup by Bristol for a 64-50 lead.

Grinnell held off the visitors from there as the Prairie Fire dropped to 6-9 in the MWC and 10-14 overall. The setback eliminated Knox from MWC Tourney contention.

Grinnell had a balanced scoring attack, with Murphy scoring 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting from 3-point land and Deal adding 15 points on a perfect 5-of-5 performance from beyond the arc. Garcia and Pinto added 10 points apiece.

John Vincent '26 grabbed seven rebounds for Grinnell and Copes blocked four shots. Garcia and Zach Rosen '26 had seven assists each, while Rosen also came up with five steals.

Grinnell's game against Cornell Saturday begins at 1 p.m. in Mount Vernon.









 
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