Last weekend, the men’s basketball team lost two games, bringing its overall record to 4-5 and 2-3 in Conference.
The Pioneers competed against St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wis. on Saturday. Despite Grinnell’s strong show of force early in the game, the Green Knights surged forward with a 12-point run shortly after, bringing St. Norbert into halftime leading with a score of 51-44.
In the second half, the Pioneers struggled to close the gap. Although a three-pointer by Luke Yeager ’15 cut the lead to just four with 18:30 remaining, the Green Knights responded with a seven-point run and eventually ran away, ending the game with a score of 102-75.
Photo by John Brady.
Head coach David Arseneault seemed unfazed by the loss, however.
“What contributed most to our loss at St. Norbert was that they were a better team,” Arseneault wrote in an email to The S&B. “That’s not to say we can’t beat them. But it would take an extraordinary performance on our behalf for that to occur.”
On Tuesday afternoon, the Pioneers travelled to Oskaloosa, Iowa to challenge William Penn University for a non-Conference matchup. The Pioneers had a great start with a triad of 3-pointer shots made by Yeager that put Grinnell ahead 9-5. However, William Penn remained persistent, and by halftime the Statesmen took the lead with 70-64..
They kept tight control of the ball from that point onwards and ended the match with a score of 151-134 in Penn’s favor. After Tuesday’s loss, Grinnell’s overall record is 4-5.
On an individual basis, the Pioneers performed well. Yeager scored career high 50 points, which included eight three-pointers. Jack Taylor ’15 made 26 points, Tague Zachary ’15 landed 15 and Julian Marx ’17 made 11. Braedon Bayer ’18 distributed six assists while James Page ’17 grabbed six rebounds.
“We shot the ball pretty well and had good defensive effort for most of the game, but the guards for William were able to handle our pressure,” said Gus King ’18. “We knew going in that the game was going to be a shootout, but we couldn’t get enough easy baskets and get over the hump.”
Despite the loss, King believes their game will improve.
“I think right now, with so many first-years on the team, we just need to get comfortable with the style of play and playing with each other,” King said. “As the season goes on, I think we’ll come together for a strong finish.”
