Griffin Lentsch ’13, from Forest Lake, Minnesota, has been a leading scorer during his career at Grinnell. Last season, Lentsch broke the NCAA DIII national record for points in a game with 89 against Principia College (broken again by Jack Taylor ’15 with 138 this season) and led the nation in 3-point field goals made per game with 4.43.

How would you describe the season so far?

It started off with a bang with Jack Taylor [’15] scoring 138 points and we really got a lot of notoriety nationally, which is pretty cool. That carried over and we were playing well but he got hurt and now we’re coping with his injury.

Can you elaborate on how Taylor’s injury has affected the team?

He was our best scorer, so everyone else had to step up to replace those points. We definitely miss him out in the court.

Your favorite game of the season?

The Cornell game [on Jan. 9] because there were seven or eight people that had the flu and didn’t get to play. Everyone who was healthy got to play and [we] somehow won. We were down most of the time but came back at the end. That was a lot of fun.

What do you need to do to maintain your current record to get to the conference?

We play Beloit on Saturday, which we need to win. Our next game is St. Norbert, who is ranked number one in the conference right now. If we want to make sure we make the tournament, we need to win all those games, which will hopefully allow us to host the conference.

Personal goal for the season?

Make the NCAA [Tournament] … I think this is our best chance.

Post-graduation plan?

I’m not quite sure yet. I would like to try and play basketball overseas, if I get the chance. I didn’t get to study abroad, so that would be like my study abroad. I’ve also been applying to jobs and grad school just in case and keeping my options open.

What’s the best part about living off-campus with your teammates?

We all have singles, which I never had before I started living off-campus. So having more room to yourself is nice.

How does it feel to have one semester remaining in Grinnell?

I like Grinnell a lot and it’s been fun. I want to leave but at the same time don’t want to leave.

How do you want to be remembered by your younger teammates?

A guy who wants everyone on the team to be a part in winning and make sure that we win a lot and have a lot of fun.

What’s an ideal date with your girlfriend?

I’m from Minnesota, and there’s a steakhouse called Manny’s Steakhouse there. I’d like to go there and have a nice meal.

-compiled by David Kim