It was Friday night, and the men's basketball team was ready to make it to the finals of the MWC tournament. However, like last year, the Pioneers fell short, unable to defeat the well-balanced attack of Carroll College.

The No. 3 seed, Carroll College, was able to come away with a 124-122 victory to advance to the finals for the MWC championship. The game resembled most of the Pioneers games this season: hard-fought and close till the very end. Neither team was able to create an insurmountable lead, and going into half time, No. 2 seed Grinnell only trailed by five points.

The second half brought with it more intense play from both teams. The teams went back and forth until 7:59, when a 3-pointer from Bobby Long '09 sparked Grinnell on an 11-4 run. However, the 105-99 lead would not last long; Carroll College stormed back and with 3:33 to take a 111-110 lead.

With 32 seconds left, David Arseneault '09 scored a crucial three followed by a key layup from Keith Chamberlain '08 to tie the game at 122 with only 16 seconds left. Knowing the season was on the line, Carroll College drove to the hole but failed to capitalize initially. Then, one second and an offensive rebound later, the season was all over for the Pioneers of Grinnell College. John Grotberg '09 led all scorers with 36 points, and Arsenault finished the game with a double-double of 17 points and 12 assists.

While the season began strong, it had turbulence along the way, including injuries to both Chamberlain and Arseneault. Predicted to finish first, Grinnell still played hard with some strong play from their first years.

With this season over, players, coaches and fans are looking forward to next season. "The conference is getting much deeper," said Scott Kaitz '11. "Next year is going to be very tough [with] Ripon, Lake Forest [and] Lawrence; there will be six or seven teams competing to be the four teams in the playoffs."

The Pioneers will be bringing back the nation's top scorer in Grotberg and top passer in Arseneault. They will, however, be losing four pivotal seniors. "All of the seniors played a big part," said Kaitz. "On and off the court they were leaders."

The expectations are high for next season, but until the men hit the court in November, it is anyone's guess where they will be this time next year.