GRINNELL, Iowa - Though a pesky Knox College men's basketball squad hung tight with the host school for most of Wednesday night's contest, Grinnell College made sure the Prairie Fire didn't get to leave Darby Gymnasium with a victory.
Grinnell pulled away late for a 111-104 victory to stretch its home winning streak against Knox to 23 games, dating back to 2000. The Pioneers remained solidly in second place in the Midwest Conference, improving to 8-2 in league play and 14-4 overall. The much-improved Prairie Fire are third in the conference at 5-4 while moving to 12-6 overall.
The teams battled back and forth the entire first half, with Grinnell taking a 49-48 lead into the locker room. The second half was more of the game, as the teams were tied 85-all with just over seven minutes left.
That's when the Pioneers made their move, scoring eight unanswered points beginning with Kai Te Huki's '27 two free throws, John Vincent '26, who may have had his best game in a Pioneer uniform while scoring a career-high 17 points, brought the crowd to its feet with a dunk and later added a layup. Gabe Garcia '27 finished the run with two free throws, giving Grinnell a 93-85 lead with 6:14 remaining.
Knox climbed within three points twice after that, but each time the Pioneers had an answer. A 3-pointer by Te Huki at the 2:39 mark squelched the latest of those rallies to put the Pioneers on top 100-94. After that, Grinnell got critical baskets from Zach Rosen '26, Jordan Lee '27 and Ryan Tarighi '27 to cruise to victory.
Te Huki again led Grinnell in scoring with 30 points. He and Vincent were joined in double figures by Tarighi and Garcia, who each had 13.
Tolu Johnson '25 added six rebounds, Garcia dished out seven assists and Lee added six. In the steals department, Nick Courtney '26 had three and Garcia, Rosen, Te Huki and Sean Murphy '26 had two apiece. Murphy's two steals were a career-high.
Grinnell has its biggest MWC test of the season Saturday when it plays league leader Illinois College, a team receiving votes for the national rankings. Tip-off in Jacksonville, Ill., is 3 p.m.