JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois College men's basketball team seemed to have survived Grinnell College's punch late in the first half, rallying back to tie the game at 55-55 after trailing much of the way. The Pioneers made a push to take a six-point lead at the break, however, and then went on a 12-0 run early in the second half to go up by 17. IC could never draw closer than 15 after that and the Grinnell cushion grew late in the game as the Pioneers ended the night with a 135-107 victory. The Blueboys fall to 4-10 (2-5 Midwest Conference) while Grinnell goes to 8-6 (4-3 MWC).
Jake Mazrimas scored 28 of his 39 points on the night in the first half and he had two layups in the opening 50 seconds to give Illinois College a 4-3 lead. Grinnell answered back with an 11-0 run to go up, 14-4, before a 7-0 spurt from the Blueboys made it a three-point game. The Pioneers led consistently in the first half, taking a 34-24 lead after nine minutes. IC refused to go away though, fighting through the full-court press to tie the game at 55-55 with 3:19 to go until halftime. Though
Hunter Ottensmeier carried the scoring burden late in the half for Illinois College, the Blueboys still went to the break facing a 68-62 deficit.
Tre Rogers was fouled on Illinois College's opening possession of the second half and knocked down one of two free throws to get IC within five. That was as close as it would get the rest of the night though. Hannes Kogelnik and Jackson Qualley each hit two threes in a 12-0 run for the visitors, making it 80-63. Another Qualley triple a couple minutes later made it 89-69 with 15:39 to play. The Grinnell advantage stayed roughly in that range throughout the remainder of the second half, only growing in the final minutes as the Pioneers let the clock roll and foul issues continued to rack up for the Blueboys.
Mazrimas had 14 rebounds on the night in addition to his career-high 39 points. Ottensmeier also had a career high with 21 points. Aiden Gilbert led all scorers, recording 42 on the night for the Pioneers. Kogelnik and Qualley each ended with 28.
Illinois College will look to make it a season sweep over Ripon College on Saturday, taking on the Red Hawks in Wisconsin at 1 p.m.
