Pioneers Knock off Illinois College, 109-86

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.

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