Eureka Falls Short at Grinnell, 115-102
GRINNELL, Iowa – The Eureka men's basketball team fell short on the road against Grinnell on Saturday, dropping a chaotic 115-102 game in non-conference play.
The loss ended a three-game winning streak for the Red Devils, who are now 3-3 in non-conference play this season.
Eureka's Charlie McKinty (Elmwood, Ill./Elmwood) and Ian Milsteadt (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria) were the Red Devils' leading scorers in the loss, posing 21 and 20 points, respectively. The former shot 8-for-13 from the field and 5-for-5 at the free-throw line, along with contributing four rebounds, four assists and one steal. The latter shot 6-for-16 from the field and went 8-for-8 at the line while gathering eight boards and adding two assists and two steals.
Center Logan Dorethy (Hamilton, Ill./West Hancock) contributed 18 points for the second straight game. David Hill (Elgin, Ill./St. Edwards Catholic) notched a career-high 10 points in 10 minutes off the bench. Lane Thompson (Dwight, Ill./Dwight) was one point shy of a double-double, finishing with 10 rebounds and nine points.
J'Len Crawford (Bloomington, Ill./Bloomington) led the team in rebounds with 13 and assists with six. He was also one of four players to chip in six points. The other three were Jalen Hosea (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods), Jordan Brooks (St. Joseph, Ill./St. Joseph-Ogden) and Austyn Ellison (Hudson, Ill./Bloomington Central Catholic).
The Red Devils led by as many as 18 in the first half, but, using the high-pressure "System," The Pioneers rallied back to within single digits by halftime, and took control in the second.
With less than five minutes left in the game, Grinnell held a 13-point advantage.
Following a 30-second timeout, Milsteadt cut it to 10 with a 3-point play. The Red Devils then chipped away at the lead at the line, with Dorethy, Hosea, McKinty and Hill all going 2-for-2 over the next three minutes to trim the lead to six.
Grinnell proceeded to draw fouls on three straight plays to bring it back to double-digits. A 3-pointer by Brooks made it a single-digit game with less than a minute to play, and the Pioneers sealed the game at the line from there.
After forcing just six turnovers in the first half, Grinnell forced 17 in the second half, and the home team improved its field goal percentage from 30.9 percent in the first half to 46.5 in the second. On top of that, the Pioneers broke a single-season school record with 14 blocked shots.
The Red Devils (3-3) will look to bounce back at Millikin (3-3) on Tuesday at 7 p.m.