GRINNELL, Iowa — The Grinnell College men’s basketball team built a double-digit lead early in the second half and kept Lawrence University at arm’s length for the rest of the game in a 122-111 Midwest Conference victory on Saturday at Darby Gymnasium.
Lawrence (12-11, 10-8 MWC), which wrapped up its season by winning four of its last five games, was led by Ryan DePouw’s game-high 26 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals. Tyler Mazur added 24 points for the Vikings on the strength of hitting 5-for-9 from 3-point range. Chase Nelson had a double-double for the Vikings with 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
Jamie Nikitas added 18 points for Lawrence, which played without a key component in starting point guard Brian Gryszkiewicz, who was out due to injury. Chris Seibert added 17 points and a team-high eight assists for the Vikings.
Grinnell’s Patrick Maher tied for game-high honors with 26 points, and he handed out 10 assists. Jack Taylor, the nation’s leading scorer, had 24 points for the Pioneers but shot only 13-for-40 from the floor in two games against Lawrence this season.
Lawrence scored the final five points of the first half, including a 3-pointer from Mazur, and trailed 68-62 at the half. A pair of Taylor free throws gave Grinnell a 79-68 lead with 16:46 remaining, and the Pioneers maintained that advantage throughout the rest of the game.
Grinnell led by as many as 17 later in the game, and Lawrence never got closer than nine points at the five-minute mark.