Two members off of the 2006-07 Grinnell College men's basketball team are spending part of their summers playing internationally on USA touring teams, while another will be trying out for a spot on one of two Canadian National Teams.
Bobby Long '09 is currently playing on the American International team from May 24th thru June 3rd. The team's five-game schedule includes stops to Rome, Florence, Lake Como, San Marino, and Milan. Having already completed three of its five games, the team holds a perfect 3-0 record. In those three games, Long is averaging 15 points, including one 24-point performance, while draining six shots from beyond the arc. The team consists of four players from Manhattanville, three from Rhode Island College which advanced to the Elite Eight this past year before losing to the eventual national champions, and three from St. Joseph's (Maine).
John Grotberg '09 will be touring Italy from July 24th thru August 1st as a member of the USA Athletes International Team which is coached by Michael Jones of Brevard College. The squad consists of 10 individuals from around the country and will compete against both semi-professional as well as professional teams.
David Arseneault '09 will take his game to Durham College in Oshawa, Ontario, from June 15-21, in hopes of landing a spot on the Canadian National Team. One team formed from the try-out is the "Developmental Team" which will play in the World University Games in Bangkok, Thailand, in July. The other team is the "Senior Team" which will compete in the Pan Am Games in Argentina as well as the Olympic Qualifier in Las Vegas, Nev.
The Grinnell College men's basketball team grinded it out the entire way, but just couldn't get the big shot to fall, as they dropped a 94-79 contest to Lake Forest in the semifinal round of the Midwest Conference Tournament on Friday night.
The Pioneers, playing in front of hostile home crowd, jumped out to leads of 2-0 and 4-3, but didn't hold another advantage the rest of the half as Lake Forest held onto a slim 37-35 halftime lead. Despite Grinnell shooting 45.2 percent for the half, the Foresters held the Pioneers to only 3-of-10 shooting from long range.
A three-pointer just nine seconds into the second half gave the Pioneers a 38-37 lead, but Lake Forest responded with a Brad Wehner lay-up to regain the lead at 39-38. The team never looked back, as it held a double-digit lead for the final nine minutes of the contest.
David Arseneault '09 scored 13 of his 17 points in the first-half to lead the Pioneers, as Doug Ticus followed with 16. Keith Chamberlain '08 chipped in with 13 points, while R.J. Roewe '09 and Bobby Long '08 added 11 and 10 points, respectively. Chamberlain and Sean Pfalzer '07 hauled in five rebounds each, while Arseneault dished out seven assists to go along with four steals. His seven assists, set a new school single-season record of 203.
The Pioneers finished the contest shooting 43.3 percent from the field, but connected on just 6-of-28 from downtown, and only 15-of-32 from the free throw line.
The Foresters shot 69.6 percent in each half, and went 25-of-36 at the charity stripe in the second-half, to clinch the win.
Patrick Hanley shot 10-of-13 from the floor, en route to scoring a game-high 25 points, while hauling in nine rebounds, and dishing out a game-high eight assists. Laird Walker recorded a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds, as Victor Campbell went 10-of-12 from the free throw line to finish with 16 points.
After scoring just 65 points against the Pioneers two weeks ago, the Foresters returned the favor by holding Grinnell to a season-low 79 points; matching the exact point-total they allowed when they squeaked by the Pioneers 80-79 earlier this season.
Grinnell closes out its solid season at 17-7 overall (13-4 MWC), as the game also marked the final contest in a Pioneer uniform for Ticus, Pfalzer, Trek Langenhan, David Rein, and Max Brauer.
Lake Forest will face Carroll in the Tournament Championship on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. The Pioneers defeated Ripon 92-79 in the earlier semifinal contest.
John Grotberg '09 buried 6-of-13 shots from downtown to finish with a game-high 31 points, as the Grinnell College men's basketball team clinched the MWC regular season title with a commanding 109-86 victory over Illinois College (8-15, 3-13 MWC) on Saturday afternoon.
The Pioneers were in cruise control early on as Trek Langenhan '07 buried a three-pointer to give the team a 14-4 lead. Illinois College didn't back down, keeping the game within 11 points until David Arseneault '09 hit 1-of-2 free throws to give Grinnell a 14-point advantage (37-23). A lay-up by Joe Womble capped a 13-7 run by the Blueboys, cutting the deficit to eight with just more than seven minutes remaining.
Grinnell then saw its lead cut to only two with 2:08 left in the first-half before hanging on for a three-point lead (56-53) at intermission.
Armando Guzman '09 capped a 12-6 run to start the second-half for the Pioneers, extending their lead back to nine with 16:41 left. Illinois College then used a 10-4 run to crawl back to within three before Grinnell went on a 10-0 run over the next minute, increasing its lead to 13 at 82-69.
From there, the Blueboys were unable to get any closer than 11 points, as Grinnell led by as many as 25 down the stretch.
The Pioneers finished the contest at 44.9 percent shooting from the field, while connecting on 17-of 45 shots from beyond the arc.
Keith Chamberlain '08 collected 16 points and two blocks as Langenhan chipped in with 15 points. Arseneault added a double-double, scoring 14 points and dishing out 11 assists, leaving him just three assists shy of a new school record, with 196. Bobby Long '08 rounded out the top Pioneers with 13 points, while Grotberg also hauled in a team-best five rebounds. Doug Ticus '07 set a new school single-season steals record of 85 with his four steals.
Illinois College got 28 points, six rebounds, and four assists from Mark Gillingham, while Womble and Mitchell Neally chipped in with 13 and 10 points respectively. Neally also grabbed 11 rebounds, as Joe Reed picked up three steals.
Grinnell improves to 17-6 overall (13-3 MWC), and winning its first league title since the 2002-03 season, including its fourth overall under Head Coach David Arseneault. The team will now play at 7:00 p.m. on Friday night in Darby Gym.
For the second straight game, it was defense that led the Grinnell College men's basketball team to victory, as it picked up a 100-65 win over Lake Forest on Saturday afternoon. The win clinched the Pioneers a berth into the Midwest Conference Tournament as they remain one-game in front of Ripon for the league title.
The Pioneers capitalized on three Forester turnovers in the first two-and-a-half minutes of the contest to open a quick 7-0 lead. Back-to-back baskets brought Lake Forest back to within three before an 8-0 run by Grinnell extended the lead up to 11.
A 12-6 run by Lake Forest cut the deficit to five at 21-16, but Grinnell quickly responded with a run of its own to climb back in front by 13 at 30-17. The Foresters responded with a basket to cut the Pioneer lead to 11 with 8:26 left before intermission, but that would be as close as LFC would get as Grinnell lead by 23 at the break and by as many as 40 points late in the second half.
John Grotberg '09 turned in one of his better shooting performances as of late, pouring in a game-high 28 points, on 6-of-9 shooting, from long range. The sophomore also dished out three assists and picked up two steals. Doug Ticus '07 added 15 points for the Pioneers, who finished the contest with their third-best shooting percentage of the year at 52.2 percent.
David Arseneault '09 rounded out the top scorers for Grinnell, finishing with 12 points and seven assists as Keith Chamberlain '08 hauled in a game-high seven rebounds and two blocked shots.
Victor Campbell turned in a team-high 15 points, on 6-of-8 shooting, for Lake Forest as Hanley and Rees added 12 and 10 points respectively. Laird Walker hauled in six rebounds, while Hanley, Campbell, and Rees grabbed five boards each.
Lake Forest finished the contest shooting 43.1 percent, marking the lowest shooting percentage by a Grinnell opponent since MacMurray shot 38.2 percent in the second game of last season.
Grinnell improves to 15-6 overall (11-3 MWC) and will return to action when it looks to clinch the conference title on Wednesday night with a road contest at Knox. Tip-off in Galesburg, Ill., is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
John Grotberg '09 led four Pioneers in double figures with 23 points, as the Grinnell College men's basketball team clinched at least a share of the Midwest Conference regular season title with a 91-74 victory over Knox (5-17, 3-12) on Wednesday night.
The Pioneers got off to a slow start offensively, connecting on just 31.3 percent of their shots in the opening half, while holding a slim 44-40 lead at intermission. The second-half proved to be a complete turnaround as the team buried 57.1 percent (16-of-28)of its shots, including 6-of-15 from long range.
Grotberg finished the contest shooting 4-of-13 from behind the arc, while also recording five steals. Bobby Long '08 followed with 13 points as David Arseneault '09 nearly finished with a triple-double, scoring 13 points, dishing out nine assists, and grabbing seven rebounds. Doug Ticus '07 rounded out the top scorers, chipping in with 11 points, to go along with five steals.
Josh Moten led all scorers with 26 points, to lead the Prairie Fire. Jason Maclin added a double-double, scoring 20 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, while Adam Estergard added 15 points. As a team, Knox shot 45.6 percent from the floor, while committing 34 turnovers.
Grinnell improves to 16-6 overall (12-3 MWC) and will close out the regular season when they host Illinois College on Saturday with tip-off scheduled for 3:00 p.m. A win against the Blueboys will give the Pioneers sole posession of the MWC crown.
In one of the team's best defensive performances in over 11 years, the Grinnell College men's basketball team remains in control of the conference race, as it defeated St. Norbert 93-66 on Saturday afternoon.
The 66 points allowed is the fewest points the team has allowed and still picked up the win since an 81-62 victory over the Green Knights back on January 26th, 1996. St. Norbert kept the game close early on as neither team led by more than three points until Grinnell used a 9-2 run midway through the half to extend its lead to nine at 30-21.
SNC clawed back to within 30-25, but then the Pioneers broke the game open by going on a 10-2 run, increasing the advantage to 14 with 4:29 left. The Green Knights got no closer than 12 points the rest of the half and Grinnell finished the frame on a 22-8 run over the final 9:08 to increase its lead to 52-33.
Grinnell shot 39.5 percent during the first half, including 10-of-26 from downtown. St. Norbert made 14-of-27 shots from the field, as well as 5-of-6 from the charity stripe, but committed 20 first-half turnovers.
The game then went back-and-forth for the first five minutes of the second half before Grinnell went up by 31 with just more than six minutes remaining in the contest. The Pioneers lead by as many as 36 in the final minutes of the game before St. Norbert closed the contest on a 9-0 run.
Bobby Long '08 scored 16 of his game-high 22 points in the first half to lead the Pioneers. David Arseneault '09 followed with 17 points and seven assists, as John Grotberg '09 and Mike Schmidt '08 added 14 and 11 points respectively. Keith Chamberlain '08 turned in a solid defensive performance, hauling in 10 rebounds, blocking three shots, and recording a game-high four steals.
Tom Katzfey and Tony Jandron scored 13 and 11 points respectively to lead the Green Knights. Nathan Zepnick hauled in nine rebounds as Bryan Gentz picked up a pair of steals.
Grinnell improves to 14-6 overall (10-3 MWC) and will return to action when they host Lake Forest in a 3:00 p.m. contest next Saturday inside Darby Gym.
In a heated battle for first-place in the Midwest Conference heading into the final weeks of the regular season, the Grinnell College men's basketball team held off a late second-half rally en route to a 113-104 victory over Carroll College (10-8, 8-4 MWC) on Friday night. The win marked the ninth straight victory for the Pioneers.
Grinnell opened the game on an 8-0 run and extended it to 15-4 nearly five minutes into the contest. Carroll responded with a 14-6 run of its own to pull to within three at 21-18. A Doug Ticus '07 lay-up with 6:55 left in the opening half capped a 15-6 run to extend the Grinnell lead to 12. Bobby Long '09 then scored seven points over the final 3:55 of the half to give Grinnell a 67-47 halftime advantage.
Carroll then opened the second half on a 13-4 run to pull to within 11. A three-pointer from Ahmed Idrissa '09 at the 13:54 mark of the half put Grinnell back up by 18. Carroll then pulled to within 10 with just more than 10 minutes remaining in regulation before getting as close as eight with just under seven minutes left. The game was back-and-forth from then on, and Grinnell would hang tough for the nine-point victory.
David Arseneault '09 scored 19 of his game-high 30 points in the first half, while finishing the contest 10-of-12 from the field. He also dished out six assists and recorded one steal. John Grotberg '09, who had only five points in the opening half, finished the game with 17 points, despite making only one three-point shot. Keith Chamberlain '08 and Long turned in 14 points each for Grinnell which remains atop the conference standings.
The Pioneers shot 49.3 percent for the field, including 35 percent from downtown, and forced 32 Carroll turnovers in the victory.
Ryan Mueller led Carroll with 22 points, on 7-of-11 shooting, while Nathan Drury followed with 20. Adam Ligocki turned in 19 points and 11 rebounds, as Buck Colomy and Ben Fischer chipped in with 11 and 10 points respectively. Drury and Fischer also dished out eight assists each.
Grinnell improves to 13-6 overall (9-3 MWC) and will look to keep pace atop the Midwest Conference when they play host to St. Norbert in a 3:00 p.m. contest on Saturday.
John Grotberg '09 connected on 14-of-30 shots from the field, en route to scoring a game-high 43 points, to help lead the Grinnell College men's basketball team to a 127-111 victory over Monmouth (8-9, 4-7) on Tuesday evening.
The Fighting Scots jumped out to an early 6-2 lead and the game went back-and-forth over the first five minutes. A three-pointer by Trek Langenhan '07 evened the score at 17-17, and a three-point play by Grotberg gave the Pioneers a three-point lead that they wouldn't relinquish.
Bobby Long '09 hit four three-pointers and drained all eight of his free throw attempts to finish with 22 points. David Arseneault '09 followed with 18 points and seven assists, while Langenhan also chipped in with 18 points. Keith Chamberlain '08 finished 5-of-8 from the field and turned in 14 points, to go along with eight rebounds.
The Pioneers connected on 45.9 percent of their shots from the field, including 40.4 percent (19-of-47) from downtown, while sinking 30-of-34 free throw attempts.
Joe Terwelp was one of three Fighting Scots to finish with more than 20 points as he pored in 26 points and 11 rebounds. Raun Singleton and Andy Moore followed with 23 and 20 points respectively, and Blaise Rogers, Caleb Bennett, and Terwelp dished out six assists apiece.
Grinnell improves to 12-6 overall (8-3 MWC) and will look to extend their winning streak to nine straight games when they host Carroll in a key 7:00 p.m. contest on Friday night in Darby Gym.
The Grinnell College men's basketball team overcame a one-point halftime deficit to outscore Illinois College by 12 points in the second-half en route to a 116-105 victory over the Blue Boys on Saturday afternoon.
The Pioneers trailed for most of the first half, including by as many as nine with 4:36 remaining, but closed the half on a 15-7 run to cut the deficit to one. The second half was back-and-forth for the first 14 minutes, with neither team leading by more than four points. The game was tied for the 11th time with 6:05 left in regulation before Bobby Long '09 buried a three-pointer with 6:00 left and Grinnell cruised from there to pick up their seventh straight win.
David Arseneault led five Pioneers in double-figures by scoring 28 points, on 11-of-16 shooting from the field. John Grotberg '09 followed with 26 points as Long and Doug Ticus each finished with 17. Keith Chamberlain chipped in with 10 points for Grinnell which finished the contest shooting 43.8 percent from the field (32.6 percent from behind the arc), while sinking 23-of-28 free throw attempts.
Joe Womble connected on 14-of-15 field goal attempts for Illinois College, to finish with 28 points and seven rebounds. Mark Gillingham added 21 points and five assists, while David Stewart turned in 14 points. The Blue Boys shot 69.2 percent from the field in the contest, but committed 23 turnovers.
Grinnell improves to 11-6 overall (7-3 MWC) and return to action on Tuesday night when they travel to Monmouth College for a 5:00 p.m. contest.
David Arseneault '09 turned in 23 points and seven assists as the Grinnell College men's basketball team picked up its 10th win of the season with a 90-70 victory over Knox (4-12, 2-7 MWC) on Tuesday night.
The Pioneers shot 42 percent from the field in the opening half, despite making only 32.3 percent of their shots from downtown. Knox, meanwhile, shot 60 percent from the field and stayed in the contest shooting 16-of-21 from the free throw line compared to just 1-of-2 for Grinnell.
Knox dropped to 47.6 percent in the second half and committed 29 turnovers in the contest, as it dropped its fifth straight contest.
John Grotberg was held to a career-low 10 points, on just 4-of-21 shooting, including 2-of-13 from long range for the Pioneers. The nation's leading scorer turned in five points in each half. Mike Schmidt buried 4-of-6 shots from behind the arc to finish with 12 points, while Keith Chamberlain added 11 points and nine rebounds. Doug Ticus picked up five steals for Grinnell, moving his season total to 66.
Jason Maclin turned in a team-high 19 points, to go along with a game-high 13 rebounds for Knox, as Josh Moten followed with 13 points.
Grinnell improves to 10-6 overall (6-3 MWC) and will look to make it seven straight wins when it takes on Illinois College on the road this Saturday afternoon with tip-off scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
After not having won on the road at Ripon in over 40 years, the Grinnell College men's basketball team has made it back-to-back wins inside the Storzer Center, as the Pioneers escaped with a 120-118 victory over Ripon on Friday night.
The game was virtually back and forth the entire contest and it came down to clutch free throw shooting by the Pioneers in the end to close out the key Midwest Conference victory.
Grinnell led virtually the entire first half until the Redhawks came storming back to finish the final five minutes on a 19-8 run to hold a 62-57 halftime advantage. Following a Keith Chamberlain '08 basket and three-pointer by Sean Pfalzer '07, the Pioneers evened the score at 62-62 to begin the second half. Ripon answered back with a 19-9 run to run its lead to double-digits with 14:30 remaining.
John Grotberg '09 then scored eight of the Pioneers next 12 points, during a 12-0 run that gave the team an 83-81 advantage. The two teams traded baskets on their next two possessions before the Redhawks used a 12-7 run to build a five-point margin with less than six minutes remaining. Grinnell then went on an 8-0 run to take a 100-97 lead, and never trailed the rest of the way.
Grotberg finished his night with 41 points, on 10-of-18 shooting from long range, to go along with four rebounds and a pair of steals. Mike Schmidt '08 added 18 points, including five three-pointers, as the Pioneers sank 23 shots from behind the arc, marking the most by the team in a game since a victory over Kalamazoo back on December 17th.
Bobby Long '08 chipped in with 16 points and a team-high five steals, while Chamberlain added 12 points and six rebounds. David Arseneault '09 just missed another double-double, scoring nine points and tying his career-high with 14 assists. He also dished out 14 assists in the team's season-opener against Carthage this season.
The Pioneers shot over 46 percent from the field in both halves, to finish the contest at 46.5 percent. They connected on 23-of-58 three-point shots as well as 73.9 percent of their free throw attempts.
Paul Wise turned in a career-high 30 points to lead Ripon (7-6, 5-2 MWC), which fell for only the second time in league play this season. Vehantre Brown followed with 22 points and three steals, while David McMullen added 18 points. Brian Schmitting turned in a double-double for the Redhawks, scoring 16 points and grabbing 15 rebounds.
Ripon finished the contest at 64.7 percent from the field, but connected on only 7-of-17 shots from the charity stripe. The team also committed 26 turnovers in the contest.
The Pioneers improve to 8-6 overall (4-3 MWC) and will return to action on Saturday afternoon when they get set for their rematch at Lawrence. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
After helping guide the Pioneers to a perfect 3-0 week, including a key overtime win at home against Lawrence, John Grotberg '09 has been named the Midwest Conference Co-Performer of the Week, announced by the league on Monday.
The Ann, Arbor, Mich., native turned in back-to-back 40+ point games in the team's victories over MSOE on Tuesday and against the Vikings on Friday. He then chipped in with a team-best 26 points against Beloit on Saturday.
It was his three-point shot at the buzzer versus Lawrence that tied the game at 119-119 and sent it into overtime. From there, the Pioneers cruised to the 142-130 victory.
For the week, the sophomore averaged 37.3 points per contest, raising his season average to 32.5 points per game. He buried 33-of-81 field goal attempts (40.7 percent) in the three games, including 19 from downtown, while sinking 27-of-30 free throw attempts.
The Pioneers improve to 7-6 overall (3-3 MWC) and will return to action next Friday night when they travel to Ripon for a 7:00 p.m. contest.
Beloit held its only lead when it recorded the game's first basket, and from then on it was all Grinnell, as the Pioneers left Darby Gym on Saturday evening with a 98-79 victory over the Buccaneers (2-12, 2-5 MWC).
The Pioneers shot 45.7 percent from the field in the opening half and got 16 first-half points from Doug Ticus '07, to build a 19-point halftime advantage. The Bucs connected on 60.9 percent of their shots in the half, but committed 20 turnovers, while Grinnell had only six.
Ticus added seven points in the second half to finish with a career-high 23 points, while also picking up three steals. John Grotberg '09 connected on 6-of-16 shots from behind the arc, and turned in a team-best 26 points. Bobby Long '09 followed with 14 points and five assists, as Keith Chamberlain '08 scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds. David Arseneault '09 surpassed last season's total of six double-doubles (points and assists) as he turned in 11 points and 13 assists, moving his season assist total to 114.
Andy Horton finished with a game-high 33 points, on 14-of-16 shooting, while also hauling in 10 rebounds. Matt Fieck added 18 points and four assists for the Bucs, who finished the game at 62.3 percent from the field and 81.3 percent from the free throw line.
The Pioneers improve to 7-6 overall (3-3 MWC) and will return to action next Friday night when they travel to Ripon for a 7:00 p.m. contest.
John Grotberg '09 buried a three-point basket as time expired in regulation to send the game into overtime, and the Pioneers' men's basketball team outscored Lawrence University in overtime to pick up a key 142-130 victory over the Vikings (7-5, 3-2 MWC) on Friday night.
The Pioneers trailed by three with 1.9 seconds left when they had the ball out of bounce just before half court, and Doug Ticus '07 found Grotberg, who took one dribble and fired up the game-tying shot from the left wing.
The Pioneers never trailed in the overtime period and led by as many as 14 points over that span.
Grotberg turned in his second straight 40-point game, finishing with a game-high 46 points, on 13-of-27 shooting, including 7-of-17 from downtown and 13-of-15 from the charity stripe.
Bobby Long '09 turned in a career-high 30 points, on 4-of-11 shooting from behind the arc, while connecting on 10-of-11 free throw attempts. David Arseneault '09 added 18 points and seven assists as Ticus followed with 16 points and six steals. Keith Chamberlain '08 turned in a double-double for Grinnell, scoring 10 points and hauling in 11 rebounds.
Andy Hurley chipped in with a team-best 28 points for the Vikings, while Ryan Kroeger added 21. Five others scored in double-figures for Lawrence, which finished the game shooting 71.8 percent from the field. Tommy Schmidt added nine rebounds as Kroeger followed with eight.
The Pioneers forced 28 turnovers and committed just 17. As a team, they finished the game at 48.2 percent from the floor, including 40 percent (20-of-50) from downtown.
Grinnell (6-6, 2-3) will look to even its conference record when it hosts Beloit in a 4:00 p.m. contest on Saturday afternoon. The game can also be heard locally on KGRN 1410AM, online at www.kgrn1410.com, or by webcast at www.midwestconference.tv.
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