Grinnell runs all over MLC

By JEREMY BEHNKE

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- The Martin Luther College men's basketball team could only watch in disbelief as Grinnell hit the first nine 3-point attempts it took in the second half as the Pioneers widened a 72-42 halftime lead.

The Pioneers launched 74 treys and connected on 32 in a 144-103 nonconference win over the Knights.

The Knights led early in the first half, but the Pioneers' depth and run-and-gun offense wore down MLC.

Joel Schwartz' basket gave the Knights an 18-15 lead, and Micah Walz followed a Grinnell miss with a lay-up, putting MLC up 20-15.

But Matt Brown hit consecutive 3-pointers to give the Pioneers a 30-24 lead, and the Pioneers never looked back.

"I thought early in the game, our press break was working for eight to 10 minutes," MLC coach Jim Unke said. "But then fatique sets in and they rotate two or three teams. The up-and-down eventually caught up to us."

After a timeout, Brown hit another 3-pointer. Then Eric Walsh was fouled on a shot from beyond the arc. He made 2-of-3, widening the Grinnell lead to 40-29.

"While we talked about their style, it's hard to practice against it because we just don't do that," Unke said. "Even though we try to simulate it in practice, it just is not like playing them."

Trey Reney and Nick Malinowski proceeded to hit back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 46-29. Paul Nordlund and Walsh closed the first half out with two more treys to give the Pioneers a 72-42 lead at the break.

The Pioneers went 16-for-44 from beyond the arc in the first half and outrebounded the Knights 39-22.

The Pioneers couldn't miss early in the second half as evident by nine straight 3-point shots. Toby Carlson hit two three's in that stretch and Steve Nordlund also hit two. Steve Nordlund led the Pioneers with 26 points -- including eight 3-pointers.

"I told them in a game like this that no lead is big enough," Unke said. "Had they started out normal -- they just lit us up. I'd like to say our defense wasn't there, but for better than half those shots they had guys with hands in their face and they just hit the threes. I mean, they were hot."

The Knights broke the press much better in the second half, but the Pioneers scored at will. The Knights, who committed 19 turnovers in the first half, finished with 33 and forced 13 Grinnell turnovers in the first half and 22 overall.

"When we got tired, we got very ragged. In the second half, I said you can throw all the turnovers and missed free throws out the window. The key is offensive rebounds," Unke said.

The Knights also did a better job of rebounding in the second half. MLC finished with 22 rebounds in the first half -- only two coming on the offensive end -- but the Knights outrebounded the Pioneers 24-17 in the second half.

"[It was] Guys holding their box-outs and guys holding their ground," Unke said. "We may have gotten in position in the first half, but we allowed them to shove us under the boards.

"In the second half, we held our ground and guys got a little bit lower and their feet got a little bit wider."

Steve Wood finished with 23 points and Matt Brown had 18 for the Pioneers. Paul Nordlund had 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Ken Heiser had 13 points and 10 assists.

For MLC, Walz scored 17 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out six assists. Justin Ohm scored 16 points and Dan Unke finished with 13 points. Aaron Schmitz scored 10. Jeff Dolan came off the bench to score nine points and grab seven rebounds and Drew Kock scored nine points.

MLC (0-1) hosts Bethel Tuesday.

GRINNELL (140)

Steve Nordlund 8-19 2-3 26, Patrick Choquette 0-2, 1-2 1, Paul Nordlund 4-9 0-0 12, Ken Heiser 4-9 4-6 13, Matt Brown 6-12 0-0 18, Nick Malinowski 4-13 0-0 12, Eric Walsh 1-2 4-5 7, Toby Carlson 2-7 0-0 6, Cole Robertson 4-6 4-4 12, Doug Ticus 0-0 0-1 0, Jack Kennedy 1-1 0-0 3, Trek Langenhan 0-1 0-0 0, Chris Mitros 2-2 2-2 6, Trey Raney 1-2 0-0 3, Steve Wood 7-17 7-9 23, Mike Misek 1-1 0-0 2.

Totals 45-103 22-30 140.

MLC (101)

Justin Ohm 7-14 0-0 16, Micah Walz 8-15 1-6 17, Jay Wendland 1-1 2-2 4, Joel Schwartz 2-3 0-0 4, Dan Unke 5-7 3-4 13, Caleb Kurbis 2-3 0-0 5, Drew Kock 4-10 1-2 9, Jeff Dolan 4-6 1-2 9, Bryant Polzin 4-8 0-0 8, Andy Plagenz 4-5 0-1 8, Keith Schleis 0-0 0-1 0, Aaron Schmitz 5-7 0-1 10.

Totals 46-80 8-19 103.