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Riding the energy of an enthusiastic crowd of 1,200 and the presence of a crew from ESPN, the Grinnell College men's basketball team sailed to a 112-88 victory over Illinois College Saturday afternoon at Darby Gymnasium.
The Pioneers were sparked by the one-two scoring punch of John Grotberg '09 and Bobby Long '09, who combined for 66 points. Grotberg tallied a game-high 37 points with the help of six 3-pointers, while Long hit seven treys on his way to scoring 29. Long also had six rebounds and six assists, while Kale Knisley '11 matched Long's rebound total. R.J. Roewe '09 added four steals and Scott Kaitz '11 had three. Three players, Mark Gillingham, Brad Johnson and Jacob Tucker, each had 12 points for Illinois College.
Grinnell improved to 7-3 in the Midwest Conference and 12-5 overall with the win, which was being shot by ESPN for footage to use in an upcoming feature story on the Pioneers' run-and-gun system. Illinois College fell to 3-7 in the MWC and 7-10 overall.
The teams went back-and-forth early, with Illinois College leading by four points as late as the 12:46 mark of the first half. But then Grinnell went on a 13-2 run to take a 24-17 lead at the 9:46 mark. Long had 10 points during the spurt, including two 3-pointers, while Grotberg scored the other three points. Illinois College chipped into the lead and was within 31-28 late in the half before another Pioneer run made it a 48-37 lead at halftime. Again Long led the charge with eight of those 17 points, while Grotberg scored six and P.J. Mahaffey '11 had three.
The teams played on even terms for the initial portion of the second half, and Illinois College eventually made it a seven-point game at 73-66 with 10:09 left. But Grinnell all but put the game away by scoring the next eight points that included a 3-pointer by Mahaffey, baskets by Long and Alex McDonald '11 and a free throw by McDonald. That spurt was part of a 17-3 run by the Pioneers that made it a 90-69 game with 7:49 to go. The run was completed with 3-pointers by Grotberg, Thomas Davis '10 and Roewe. Grinnell, which shot an amazing 45.5 percent from 3-point land in the second half, cruised from there for the victory.
The Pioneers remain at home as they host Monmouth College Tuesday night at Darby Gymnasium. Game time is 7 p.m.
Box Score
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