Grinnell College’s men’s basketball team tied its high mark for most points in a game this season and snapped a two-game losing streak with a 121-98 non-conference victory over Fontbonne University Sunday afternoon at Darby Gymnasium.
Dylan Seelman ‘13 led all scorers with 29 points with the aid of 8-of-22 3-point shooting, while Matt Skelly ’12 had 28 points and five rebounds. Also scoring in double digits were Matt Chalupa ’12 with 12 points and Dominique Bellamy ’13 (pictured) with 11. Scott Kaitz ’11 had eight assists and five rebounds, Kale Knisley ’11 had five boards and Alex McDonald ’11 came up with four steals.
Grinnell improved to 5-12 with the win, while Fontbonne – which was led by Jahmall Thomas’ 22 points – dipped to 6-13.
The visitors led by as many as seven early before Grinnell retaliated with a nine-point run for a 17-15 edge. Skelly and Knisley began the run with layups, Seelman hit a 3-pointer and Bellamy had a layup to account for the spurt.
But even a bigger run followed, one that turned a 25-21 Grinnell lead into a 34-21 edge. Brian McManamy ’13 started it off with a layup, Bellamy sank two free throws, Xander Strek ’12 sank a 3-pointer and Chalupa made two free throws to put the Pioneers up by 13 with 7:05 left in the first half.
Grinnell gradually increased its lead and was up 64-48 at halftime. The Pioneers opened the second half with an 8-2 run with the aid of five points from Skelly and three more from Seelman as they sailed to the easy win.
Grinnell jumps back into Midwest Conference play this coming weekend, playing at Ripon College on Friday and at Beloit Saturday.
