GRINNELL, Iowa – Grinnell College's men's basketball team was on a mission in Saturday afternoon's battle with nationally-ranked St. Norbert College.
 
Mission accomplished.
 
The determined Pioneers battled to the end to knock off the No. 9 Green Knights 91-87 at Darby Gymnasium. The win marked the highest-ranked team (in the D3hoops.com poll) the Pioneers have ever defeated.
 
Grinnell also snapped a seven-game losing streak to St. Norbert, dating back to 2013, and provided the Green Knights just their second loss to a league opponent in their past 80 outings.
 
Grinnell improved to 14-7 overall, while St. Norbert dipped to 17-4.
 
Vinny Curta '19 led Grinnell with 20 points and nine assists, Ky-Sean Johnson '19 added 17 points and hot-shooting Sean Cullinane '18 added 15 on perfect 5-of-5 shooting from 3-point land.
 
Jacob Ekstrand '18 had 12 points, Julian Marx '17 had four steals and Nick Curta '17 was a monster in the paint with four blocks and seven rebounds.
  
Even before the opening tip, excitement filled the air as Marx was honored for reaching the 1,500-point milestone in Wednesday's win over Knox College. He now is 11th all-time at Grinnell.

The first half was tight the entire way, which was displayed by 10 ties. St. Norbert went into the locker room with a 43-40 lead.
 
It was more of the same back-and-forth in the second half, with a handful more ties including 76-all with 5:58 left.
 
St. Norbert took its final lead at 77-76 when Grinnell went on a critical eight-point run. Johnson made two free throws to put the hosts ahead by a point and then hit a 3-pointer. Cullinane also drilled a 3-pointer to put the Pioneers up 84-77 with 4:23 remaining.
 
St. Norbert kept making charges, and the Pioneers always answered the call. After the Green Knights came within two, Ekstrand hit a big 3-pointer with 2:32 left.
 
The visitors later came within one with a 3-pointer at the 39-second mark. Grinnell worked the shot clock down before Vinny Curta scored down low to put the hosts ahead 90-87 with 8 seconds remaining.
 
St. Norbert tried to tie it with a 3-pointer in the waning seconds, but missed and Nick Curta corralled the rebounds. He was fouled and made the second of two free throws to secure the win with less than a second left.
 
The Green Knights inbounded the ball as time expired, sending the Pioneers and their loyal following into celebration.
 
The Pioneers play Knox College Tuesday night in Galesburg, Ill. Action begins at 7:30 p.m.