JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – It's not often a player sets two national records in a game, let alone two on the exact same shot.

Vinny Curta '19 of Grinnell College did exactly that Saturday afternoon as the Pioneers' huge rally fell just short in a 120-117 loss at Illinois College.

Curta tied the NCAA Division III record for free throws made and attempted in a season on the second of two charity shots with 4:48 remaining in the first half. That tied the marks of 249 and 326 established by Dave Russell of Shepherd in 1975 and Moses Jean-Pierre of Plymouth State in 1994, respectively.

Curta went on to take sole possession of the records on his next trip to the stripe, when he sank two free throws with 10:54 left in the game. He finished the game 8-of-9 from the free throw line, making him 252-of-329 for the season.

Additionally, Sean Cullinane '18 became Grinnell's new 3-point accuracy leader. He finished his career 170-of-358 for a 47.5 percent success rate, passing Steve Diekmann. His percentage ranks sixth in Midwest Conference history.

Curta led Grinnell with 23 points and also had five assists and two steals. Ky-Sean Johnson '19 added 19 points and two steals, while Tyler Grumhaus '21 tallied a career-best 18 points.

Jacob Ekstrand '18 and Cullinane wrapped up their Pioneer careers in double figures with 13 and 12 points. Ekstrand's mark was a season-high and Cullinane was 4-of-9 from the 3-point line and shot 50.9 percent from long range for the season, third-best in Grinnell history.

Brad Geiman '21 had a big game with six rebounds, five blocks and a career-high two steals. Griffin Boehm '19 added nine boards.

The early part of the game was back and forth, with Grinnell taking its final lead of 20-19 on a 3-pointer by Hannes Kogelnik '21 with 13:45 left in the first half.

The Blueboys went up by 20 later in the half and were ahead 72-57 at halftime.

Grinnell (13-11, 8-10 MWC) gradually chipped away, but still trailed by nine points with under two minutes to play.

Ekstrand made a 3-pointer and the Blueboys a dunk to make it an eight-point lane. Curta then had a tip-in and Johnson a trey to make it 117-114 with 41 seconds left.

After the Blueboys (8-17, 3-15 MWC) got a free throw, Cullinane scored from deep to bring Grinnell within 118-117 with 20 seconds left.

Illinois College was fouled 4 seconds later and made both free throws. The Pioneers had a final shot at a basket to tie but it was off the mark.

Besides the free throw marks, Curta finished the season ranked in the Pioneers' top 10 in three other categories – points (second with 785, which ranks third in the MWC), field goals made (fourth with 243, sixth in the MWC) and scoring average (sixth at 32.7, also sixth in the MWC).

He is also in four career categories with a season to play – free throws attempted (second with 677, third in the MWC), free throws made (third with 512, fifth in the MWC), assists (eighth with 320) and points (ninth with 1,662).