GRINNELL, Iowa – For the early portion of Thursday's men's basketball game at Darby Gymnasium, Grinnell College's shooting was as cold as the weather outside.
 
But then the Pioneers heated up, rallying from a 14-point first-half deficit to knock off Beloit College 110-83. The victory pushed Grinnell to 12-2 in the Midwest Conference and 16-4 overall while remaining a half-game behind St. Norbert College in the league standings. The Pioneers have now won seven games in a row.
 
Grinnell got 26 points and five steals from Vinny Curta '19, a career-high 21 points from Zachary Stice '21 and 15 points and four boards from Ky-Sean Johnson '19. Also in double figures were Jackson Qualley '22 with 12 points and Will Bebee '22 with 11. Bebee nearly had a double-double as he grabbed nine rebounds to go along with five blocks and a career-best three steals.
 
Griffin Boehm '19 added eight rebounds and Hannes Kogelnik '21 three steals. Grinnell shot 41 free throws in the game, its second-highest total of the season, and finished with 10 blocked shots to boost its season total to a school-record 125.
 
The Pioneers shot just 35 percent from the field in the first half, including 20 percent from 3-point land, and 47 percent from the free throw line while digging a 28-14 hole midway through. Still trailing by 12 with 3:41 left, Patrick Simms '22 had a layup, Bebee pounded down a dunk and Anthony Gulve '20 delivered on a 3-pointer to bring the Pioneers within five.
 
Later in the half, down by six, Curta made two free throws and Johnson cashed in on a trey to bring Grinnell within 43-42 by halftime. Curta made two free throws to open the second half, giving Grinnell just its second lead of the game.
 
Beloit kept it close, though, and led 51-49 before the Pioneers delivered a big blow with a 20-5 run. Stice kicked things off with consecutive treys and Kogelnik added a jumper and 3-pointer during a spurt in which the hosts went up 60-53. Johnson then made a layup for a nine-point edge. Beloit got three points back before Curta made a layup, Stice a 3-pointer and Bebee a thundering dunk that put Grinnell up 69-56 with 12:46 left.
 
The Pioneers led by double digits the rest of the way on their way to victory. With the loss, Beloit fell to 4-9 in the MWC and 6-14 overall.
 
During the contest, Curta moved up in three career categories for Grinnell. He is now fourth in assists with 442, sixth in field goal attempts with 1,439 and eighth in steals with 175. Additionally, his 216 free throw attempts this season and 170 free throws rank sixth and seventh in program history, respectively. Geiman now has 57 blocks this season, which is fourth-best.
 
Grinnell is at Darby again Saturday for a date with Monmouth College. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m.