JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – Though the Illinois College men's basketball team managed a few brief leads in the second half, Grinnell College's frenetic pace and some late foul trouble doomed the Blueboys to a 106-95 loss to the Pioneers. Grinnell improved to 10-4 (6-2 Midwest Conference) with the win, while IC dropped to 4-11 (2-6 MWC).
During an exciting opening nine-minute stretch, the Blueboy lead grew to as much as 13 points after an
Isaac Collins three-pointer made it 27-14. But due to Grinnell's style of play, any kind of scoring drought can be quickly punished and the Pioneers came back to take a 44-42 lead after hitting three-pointers on three straight possessions late in the first half. At halftime, Grinnell held a 52-48 edge.
A 6-0 run featuring buckets from
Kane Wildermuth,
Mason Speer and
Sean McDonald gave Illinois College a 54-52 lead early on in the second half and the Blueboys continued to play Grinnell evenly for the opening stages of the second half. Another Wildermuth bucket halfway through the period made it 74-74.
With just over seven minutes remaining, the Grinnell lead was still just two points after McDonald scored to make it 85-83. Soon the pace of the game and a number of missed free throws from the Blueboys combined to help the Pioneers pull away. Ky-Sean Johnson controlled the proceedings down the stretch for the visitors and had 16 of his 24 points after halftime to push Grinnell's lead out of reach.
Wildermuth led four IC players in double-figures with a double-double of 21 points and 13 rebounds. McDonald added 18 points and 10 boards.
Trevor Otten tacked on 12 points and
Mason Speer had a team-best nine assists in addition to 10 points. Vinny Curta, the second-leading scorer in the nation at more than 26 points per game, was limited to 10 points on the night.
Illinois College stays at home this weekend, hosting Ripon College in Sherman Gymnasium on Jan. 12 at 3 p.m.
