Contact: Chassidy Holloway, Associate Executive Director, holloway@midwestconference.org
 
MONMOUTH, Illinois – For the first time in 24 years, Grinnell College men’s basketball is the Midwest Conference (MWC) Tournament Champion. The Pioneers defeated Lake Forest College 95-82 on Saturday afternoon to win the title and secure the league’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament.
 
Grinnell scored first on its opening possession, and after Lake Forest led 5-4 with 17:49 remaining in the first half, the Pioneers would never trail again.
 
The Pioneers held an 11-point advantage with 10:21 left in the first half, eventually leading by as many as 25 before heading into halftime with a commanding 54-31 lead.
 
Lake Forest struck first in the second half and battled back to cut Grinnell’s lead to single digits at 59-51 with 14:10 remaining. By 13:07, Grinnell’s lead had shrunk to just four points, 59-55.
 
However, the Pioneers responded with a 6-0 run to extend their lead to 71-59 with 8:27 remaining.
 
The Foresters made one final push, going on a 9-2 run to cut the score to 88-80 with 1:04 remaining, but Grinnell held off the surge to secure the victory.
 
Lake Forest finishes its season at 14-13 overall (10-6 MWC).
 
Grinnell improves to 20-7 and will await its NCAA Tournament first-round opponent during Monday’s NCAA Selection Show, scheduled for 11:00 a.m.