GRINNELL, Iowa – Vinny Curta '19 joined elite Grinnell College men's basketball company and the Pioneers avenged last year's loss to Central College by dropping the Dutch 119-93 Tuesday night at Darby Gymnasium.
Grinnell improved to 4-0 for the first time since the 2013-14 season and snapped an eight-game losing streak to Central dating back to the 1952-53 season.
Curta scored 35 points and became the 26th Pioneer to join the 1,000-point club for his career. Curta hit 23-of-26 free throws, with the shots made and attempted both ranking second-best in program history.
Additionally, he dished out six assists. Ky-Sean Johnson '19 hit 11-of-12 free throws for 27 points, while Hannes Kogelnik '21 added 13 points.
Brad Geiman '21 came up big inside, blocking six shots which is tied for sixth-most in a game at Grinnell. Griffin Boehm '19 had seven rebounds and Johnson tallied three steals.
Grinnell was also aided by 14 steals off of 31 Central turnovers.
The Pioneers never trailed in the game after Curta sank two free throws to start things. Central forced two ties and later trailed by just three when Grinnell opened things up with a 9-2 run. Ikaika Phillip '18 and Johnson each had treys in the spurt and Jacob Ekstrand '18 converted a traditional three-point play for a 24-14 edge with 12:44 left in the first half.
It was later just a six-point lead when Grinnell all but put the game away with a 12-0 run. Curta began it with two free throws, Ekstrand hit a 3-pointer, Johnson sank two free throws, Phillip made a layup and Sean Cullinane '18 drilled a 3-pointer to put Grinnell up 36-18.
The Pioneers extended their lead to 65-43 by halftime and never looked back. With the loss, Central dipped to 0-3.
Grinnell entertains Kansas Christian College Saturday at Darby Gymnasium. Tip-off is at 3 p.m.