Knights outlast Grinnell in OT

By BOB VARMETTE

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- It was the best show in town. So good, in fact, the Grinnell Pioneers and the Martin Luther Knights decided to extend it into overtime.

Forty minutes and 262 points decided nothing. But in the extra period, MLC decided it could get the job done when it counted, holding off Grinnell 151-148 Saturday afternoon in nonconference men's basketball.

"Yesterday (against Marian) down the stretch, we didn't get it done," MLC coach James Unke said. "Today, down the stretch, we did. To me, that's taking two huge strides forward as a team. It's a confidence builder."

Grinnell and MLC, in combining for 299 points, attempted 186 shots from the field -- that's an average of more than four per minute. The score could have been higher -- Grinnell (0-1) was only 28-of-71 (39.4 percent) from beyond the 3-point line and MLC (1-1) committed 33 turnovers.

But none in overtime. The young Knights showed they learned quickly when it comes to poise under pressure.

"We just had to be calm and take care of the ball," MLC post Tom Engelbrecht said. "We had to keep our heads. It's kind of surprising since we're young, Yesterday showed us we can play, today showed us we can win."

MLC junior guard Jake Briney, who had only two points in regulation, scored six in the overtime, including two free throws with three seconds left in the game.

The final minute cost MLC a victory Friday night in a 74-71 loss to Marian. The last minute Saturday afternoon earned them one.

Junior forward Ben Kuerth put MLC up 147-145 with a minute left with a 3 from the right wing, but the Pioneers got a 3 from Cody Skarning to take a 148-147 advantage. Phil Huebner put MLC back in front 149-148 with a 12-foot pull-up jumper from the right baseline.

When Grinnell's Nick Malinowski missed a 3 from the left corner with five seconds left, Briney grabbed the rebound and was fouled. His two free throws left the Pioneers with one last chance with just three seconds, but Skarning's 3-point attempt from the right wing came after time expired.

It clanged off the rim anyway.

"It was awesome," MLC junior forward Tim Breitkreutz said. "The fans were out there yelling and shouting and it was really great because every time we'd go down and score they'd come back and score on us. It was great that we kept our mindset and just went down and did our business."

In the second half, the Knights were able to handle the frenetic pace of play. They began to find ways to capitalize upon the Grinnell press, and Engelbrecht -- a 6-foot-8 freshman -- did much of the capitalizing.

Engelbrecht scored 22 of his team-high 30 points in the second half. He finished the game 13-of-15 from the field.

"Their press, if you broke it, you had a wide-open layup," Engelbrecht said. "A lot of times, our guys would pass it up and I would be wide open."

Engelbrecht was one of six Knights to reach double figures and one of four to score 20 or more points. Breitkreutz added 23 points, Josh Rimpel 21 off the bench and Kuerth added 20 for MLC.

In scoring a school-record 151 points, MLC shot a school-record 75.6 percent from the field.

"The game plan was to get easy shots," Breitkreutz said. "By the stats, you could see that happened. We did a pretty good job of doing that."

Seven Grinnell players scored in double figures, led by a game-high 31 from Mike Hochman. Skarning added 22 despite only shooting 4-of-15 from behind the arc and Steve Nordlund added 20 for the Pioneers.

Surrendering 148 points and letting seven of your opponent's players reach double figures is not usually associated with a good defensive effort. But in reality, it was -- the Pioneers shot 45.2 percent from the field and hit 39.4 percent of their 3-point attempts, but the Knights fought through Grinnell's screens and contested nearly every shot.

"I thought we did play pretty good defense in this style of game," Unke said. "They made some 3s with guys in their face. ... I think we did a better job defensively today than we did yesterday.

"Whatever the win looks like, we'll take it."

MLC will travel to Minneapolis Tuesday to play North Central in a nonconference game.

GRINNELL (0-1)

Shaw 5-10 2-3 16, Malinowski 5-11 1-2 15, Flockerzi 1-2 0-0 2, Birdwell 1-2 0-0 3, Lipsett 1-1 0-0 3, Ekhoff 1-1 0-0 3, Carlson 2-7 7-9 12, Hochman 10-20 5-8 31, R.Wood 0-1 0-0 0, Skarning 6-19 6-9 22, Nordlund 6-15 2-2 20, S.Wood 6-10 3-5 16, Choquette 3-3 0-0 6, Pedersen 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 47-104 26-38 148.

MARTIN LUTHER (1-1)

Pa.Huebner 0-0 2-2 2, Wendland 2-3 2-2 8, Schwartz 0-1 0-0 0, Briney 3-6 2-2 8, Kuerth 7-8 4-5 20, Thiesfeldt 1-2 0-0 2, Ph.Huebner 2-6 4-4 8, Breitkreutz 10-11 3-4 23, Engelbrecht 13-15 4-4 30, Zahn 8-9 1-2 17, Rimpel 10-14 1-2 21, Nielsen 6-7 0-2 12. Totals 62-82 23-29 151.

Halftime--Grinnell 67, MLC 66. 3-Point Goals--Grinnell 28-71 (Hochman 6-13, Nordlund 6-14, Shaw 4-8, Malinowski 4-8, Skarning 4-15, Lipsett 1-1, Birdwell 1-2, S.Wood 1-3, Carlson 1-4, R.Wood 0-1, Pedersen 0-2), MLC 4-7 (Wendland 2-2, Kuerth 2-2, Briney 0-1, Ph.Huebner 0-1, Rimpel 0-1). Fouled out--Wendland. Rebounds--Grinnell 36 (Hochman 6), MLC 51 (Breitkreutz, Engelbrecht 9). Assists--Grinnell 11 (Skarning 4), MLC 39 (Engelbrecht 10). Total fouls--Grinnell 27, MLC 25. Technical--Grinnell bench. Turnovers--Grinnell 21, MLC 33.