GRINNELL, Iowa – What began as a basketball game for Grinnell College ended up being a block party.
 
The Pioneer men's basketball team shattered their program record for blocked shots in a game Saturday afternoon in a 115-102, come-from-behind victory over St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) preseason favorite Eureka College at Darby Gymnasium.
 
Grinnell blocked 14 Red Devil shots, beating the previous mark of 13 that had been established four times and most recently in 2019. Leading the charge was Will Bebee '22, whose nine blocks was a career-best and just one off tying the school record. He boosted his career total to 125 blocks, fourth-best at Grinnell.
 
Bebee also had a career day on the offensive side, tallying a personal-best 17 points. He added three steals to his cause.
 
Patrick Simms '22 and David Bluder '25 shared scoring honors for Grinnell (4-3) with 21 points apiece. Simms also dished out six assists to go with three steals, Jordon Ryan '24 had a career-best eight rebounds and Adam Phillips '23 poured in 12 points for Grinnell.
 
Eureka (3-3) took advantage of Grinnell's shooting struggles in the first half to build an early lead. Grinnell shot just 30.9 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes before warming up to 46.5 percent in the second half.
 
The Red Devils were up by as many as 18 with 3:56 to go in the half before Grinnell rallied, cutting it to 57-49 on a late 3-pointer by Bluder.
 
Trailing by seven early in the second half, Grinnell began its comeback. Layups by Bluder and Tommy Smith '22 made it a 62-59 game and Max DeGeorge '25 drained a 3-pointer to tie the contest. Morgan Walser '22 followed with another trey to give the Pioneers a lead they would never relinquish.
 
Grinnell gradually upped the cushion and held the Red Devils at bay down the stretch.
 
As a team, Grinnell tied the school record for blocks at 13 with 44 seconds left on Bebee's swat, and broke it 30 seconds later on another block by Bebee.
 
The Pioneers jump back into Midwest Conference play Tuesday with a game at Knox College. Tip-off is at 5:30 p.m.