GRINNELL, Iowa - Grinnell College's men's basketball team passed its 2024-25 home opening test with flying colors Saturday afternoon, blasting Principia College 126-89 at Darby Gymnasium.

The victory pushed Grinnell to 9-0 all-time against the Panthers in a series that started in 1992.

The Pioneers owned the boards, pulling down 66 rebounds compared to 52 for Principia. Grinnell rode a balanced scoring attack that saw Kai Te Huki '27 score 22 points, Gabe Garcia '27 and Nick Lundy '27 scoring 16 apiece and Harris Dar '28 tallying 14.

Garcia grabbed a career-high eight rebounds for the 2-1 Pioneers, Tolu Johnson '25 added seven and Te Huki, Sean Walser '26 and Strahinja Nikolic '27 had six each. The totals by Te Huki and Nikolic are both career-highs.

David Bluder '25 had a career-best three steals, the same figure as Dar and Jackson Leone '25. On the assists front, Dar and Garcia each dished out five.

The game was never in doubt as Grinnell scored 12 of the first 14 points. Te Huki opened the contest with a trey and John Vincent '26 sank a free throw. After the 1-2 Panthers got a basket, Sean Murphy '26 and Jordan Lee '27 drained consecutive treys and Lundy scored inside to make it 12-2. 

Grinnell opened up a 62-43 lead by halftime and sailed from there.

Grinnell has a tough test coming Tuesday when Wartburg College visits Darby for a 7 p.m. matchup.