GRINNELL, Iowa – Grinnell College hadn't lost at home to Cornell College in two decades, and the Pioneers had no plans of seeing that streak end Wednesday night.
The Pioneers forced 32 turnovers and had their second best 3-point shooting performance of the season as they hung on to defeat the Rams 104-100.
The win avenged a loss to Cornell last month and helped Grinnell end a two-game losing streak in the key Midwest Conference contest. Grinnell is now 6-5 in the league and 11-6 overall, while the Rams dipped to 5-6 in the MWC and 10-8 in all games.
The Pioneers have won eight in a row over Cornell at Darby Gymnasium, dating back to the 1997-98 season. Additionally, Grinnell has won five of its last six games overall against the Rams.
The Pioneers shot 41.3 percent from 3-point land, with Ky-Sean Johnson '19 going 5-of-12 from beyond the stripe and Vinny Curta '19 and Sean Cullinane '18 each 3-for-5.
Curta finished with 32 points, five assists and four steals, while Johnson had 23 points and two steals. Hannes Kogelnik '21 chipped in with 12 points and Cullinane 11.
Griffin Boehm '19 added five rebounds, Gus King '18 came up with two steals and Nathan Balcom '18 posted a season-high three assists.
The Pioneers shot out to an 8-2 lead and built their cushion as big as 16 in the first half when Morgan Walser's '21 3-pointer made it 36-20 with 8:39 left.
But the Rams roared back, coming within two before trailing 53-47 at intermission.
The Rams took a one-point lead early in the second half, but Grinnell responded with a run to go ahead to stay. Andrew Redhead '18 tied the game with a free throw, Curta added a layup and King and Cullinane sank 3-pointers to put the Pioneers ahead 63-55 with 13:05 left.
Grinnell continued to surge, going up by 19 with 5:59 left on Johnson's layup. Cornell then made a run of its own, but it was too little too late as Grinnell never let the Rams closer than the final four-point margin.
The Pioneers hit the road to play Lawrence University Saturday in Appleton, Wis. Game time is 1 p.m.