Complete Results

There are no real surprises to what Grinnell College likes to do on the basketball court -- get off a lot of shots, shoot and make a bunch of 3's, and run in five new players about every 45 seconds to keep their legs fresh and try to force the opposition into mistakes with intense full-court pressure.

Grinnell used that formula to win its first Midwest Conference game of the season 132-120 at Darby Gym against the Prairie Fire, who battled hard to the end but was hurt by Grinnell’s offensive rebounding, pressure defense and a scoring drought in the first half.

The Fire (1-5, 0-3 MWC) shot a blistering 67.6 percent (46-of-68) in the game, including 6-of-9 from three point range, and made 22-of-27 (81.5 percent) foul shots.  Grinnell, using 17 players in the system Coach David Arseneault implemented several years ago, made 38-of-84 shots -- including 20-of-57 from three point range, connected on 36-of-52 (69.2 percent) from the free throw line and forced Knox into 28 turnovers.

The Pioneers (6-2, 1-2 MWC) raced out to a 5-0 lead in the first 36 seconds of the game.  The Prairie Fire responded by tying the contest on three occasions in the first half -- at 9-9, 11-11 and 13-13 -- before Grinnell followed with a 16-6 run in a stretch of 2:40 to grab a 29-19 advantage with 12:23 to play in the half.  Back-to-back baskets by sophomore Ian Horvath (Addison, Illinois) and first-year forward David Jones (Denver, Colorado), who made his first start, cut the Grinnell lead to 30-23 with just under 11:00 before halftime after a made free throw by the Pioneers.

The Fire offense then had a dry spell that lasted more than six minutes and would ultimately prove costly.  A layup by Junior Joe Kozak (Park Ridge, Illinois), two free throws by Horvath and one free throw by senior Pete Cain (Redlands, California) were the only points Knox would score until 4:22 to play.  The Pioneers netted 18 points during that stretch to extend the lead to 48-28. 

The Prairie Fire refused to go away and outscored Grinnell 10-3 over the next two-and-a-half minutes on two basket baskets each by sophomore Lukas Shaw (Portland, Oregon) and junior Tanner Carlson (Annawan, Illinois), and a layup by Kozak, to close the gap to 51-38 at the 2:10 mark.
 
The Pioneers kept the pressure on by draining four three point baskets and sinking a pair of free throws to take a 65-46 halftime lead.

The Prairie Fire had a couple of chances in the second half to put a serious dent in the Grinnell advantage.  The best opportunity was when Carlson split a pair of free throws to cut the Pioneer lead to 101-92 with 5:33 to play.  Grinnell hit a three point shot on its next possession to go up 104-92, followed by a Prairie Fire turnover and a foul.  The Pioneers cashed in with a three point basket and a free throw to extend the lead to 108-92 with 4:19 to go.

The Prairie Fire twice cut the deficit to 11 points, 115-104 (2:34) and 121-110 (1:47).  Knox fouls that Grinnell converted into made free throws allowed the Pioneers to again extend the lead.  Knox got within 10 points at 130-120 with 20 seconds left in the game when Kozak hit a three point shot.  A pair of made free throws by the Pioneers' Matt Chalupa accounted for the final margin.

Besides outscoring Knox 36-22 at the free throw line, Grinnell helped itself with 24 offensive rebounds, eight blocked shots and 21 steals while committing only 12 turnovers.
 
The Prairie Fire, meanwhile, played better in the second half.  Knox outscored the Pioneers 74-67, committed fewer turnovers (11) and forced Grinnell into more mistakes (9) than in the first half (3).

Five Knox players scored in double figures.  Jones had the most productive game to date in his brief college career with 32 points and nine rebounds.  Kozak had 31 points, nine rebounds and two blocks.  Carlson added 22 points, seven assists and six rebounds.  Junior Ben Wetherbee chipped in with 13 points -- which included four three point baskets -- and Horvath came off the bench to score 10 points.

Grinnell's Griffin Lentsch scored 29 points in just 12 minutes of action and Matt Chalupa -- who played 16 minutes -- added 20, including five three-point baskets.  Jesse Nay also had five buckets from long range and finished with 17 points.  The three leading scorers for the Pioneers came off the bench.  The lone Grinnell starter to reach double figures was Matt Skelly with 15 points. 

The Prairie Fire likely has its toughest test to date Saturday in DePere, Wisconsin against nationally ranked St. Norbert College.  The tip-off is scheduled at 3:00 p.m.  Live stats are available by going to http://www.snc.edu/athletics/teamfiles/livestats/xlive.htm.

SNC, which entered Wednesday night's game at Beloit College ranked #6 in the most recent D3Hoops.com Top 25 poll, was stunned by the Buccaneers 62-50.  The loss was the first of the season for the Green Knights (5-1, 2-1 MWC). 

Beloit (2-4, 2-2 MWC) had a 1-4 overall record going into the game, but has now won two of its last three games after starting the season 0-3.