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Men's basketball needs wins on the road to make it to conference

by Kevin Byrne

After their toughest weekend of the year, the Grinnell men's basketball team emerged battered, bruised, but still in contention for that coveted berth in the Midwest Conference Tournament.

After two hard-fought losses to #25 Carroll College and #3 Lawrence University, Grinnell posted a victory in a must-win home contest against Monmouth College, 123-113. As they currently prepare for an extremely important road trip to Wisconsin, the Pioneers are in the driver's seat in the MWC.

Grinnell got off to a hot start on Friday against the visiting Carroll College Pioneers. John Gritberg '09 poured in 31 points and Mike Schmidt '08 hit six three-pointers on his way to 25 points. Unfortunately, Carroll also started off strong, keeping up with Grinnell and pushing the system to its limits. At the end of a fast-paced game, Carroll came out on top, 150-138.

"They never really took us out of rhythm. We did score 138 points," said Jack Kennedy '06. "They did slow us down a bit by trying to double team John [Grotberg], but we still had our opportunities. They simply outscored us with great open court offense. They were not afraid of the speed of the system."

The tough loss to Carroll did not make things any easier on Saturday, as Grinnell hosted Lawrence University, ranked #3 in the country and the only team in the nation with a perfect record.

Lawrence displayed excellent defense and limited the Pioneers' offensive production. Grotberg scored 27 points, Keith Chamberlain '08 had 10 points and Doug Ticus '07 had eight points and nine rebounds as Grinnell put up a season-low 79 points in a 98-79 defeat.

"Lawrence is a very solid defensive basketball team," said Ticus. "They have the mentality, strength and speed to play straight up, hard nosed man to man defense against us. They were able to bump us and take us out of what we usually do. They were by far the best defensive team we have faced all year, and I would not be surprised if they are one of the top defensive teams in the country."

After two difficult match-ups, Grinnell had another chance to defend their home court on Tuesday when Monmouth College came to town. The Pioneer offensive was rolling, as Grotberg again led the way with 37 points and Toby Carlson '06 shot 7-of-10 from downtown for 21 points. Davie Arseneault '09, the nation's leader in assists, distributed 10 assists to go with his 14 points. Chamberlain added 11 points, seven boards, three blocks and three steals.

"Our game versus Monmouth was pretty close to a must-win situation if we want to make the playoffs," said Head Coach Dave Arseneault. "We only have two home games left and you have to protect your turf. If we can do the job at home, then it will be possible to steal a couple of wins on the road, especially against teams that have already been eliminated from playoff contention."

The Pioneers will begin that quest this weekend as they face Ripon on Friday and Beloit on Saturday.

Sidebar: Men's Basketball Season at a Glance

• The Pioneers are 11-6, 7-4 in the MWC
• The men have been using their home court advantage well, winning 10 out of 13 games at Darby
• The Pioneers have held on to their record as the highest scoring team in the NCAA, with an average of 119.9 points per game
• The basketball team has five conference games remaining before the MWC tournament begins
• The men play the Ripon Redhawks tonight in Wisconsin and they travel to Beloit on Saturday
• The Pioneers will return hom to play Knox on Feb. 15 after an away game against Illinois College on Feb. 11

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