RIPON, Wis. – In typical Grinnell vs. Ripon fashion, Friday night's game wasn't over until the final buzzer sounded. In a game that featured nine ties and ten lead changes, Grinnell got the best of Ripon, defeating the Red Hawks 120-118 at Storzer Center. Prior to last season, Ripon hadn't lost to Grinnell at home in 43 years, but the Pioneers have now won two straight at Ripon thanks in part to John Grotberg's 41 points.

Grinnell showed a sign of things to come just four seconds into the ball game when Bobby Long nailed a three-pointer for the first points of the game. Grinnell built on that lead early on, going ahead by as many as 13 points, but as Ripon has been known to do this season, the Red Hawks slowly, but surely, made a comeback. After falling behind by 13, Ripon went on a 14-3 run to cut the lead to two. The Grinnell lead stayed within two baskets or less for the next several minutes before Ripon's David McMullen gave the Red Hawks the lead on a layup. Ripon was in command for the rest of the half, going to the locker rooms with a five point advantage.

Ripon was able to hold the Pioneers at arms length for the first several minutes of the second half, going up by 10 points with 14:30 to play. No lead is safe when you're playing Grinnell's up-tempo style of play. A minute and a half later, the Pioneers had tied the game with two three-pointers and two layups. Ripon regained the lead once more for the next several minutes, but gave it back to the Grinnell with five minutes to play on a three-pointer by Mike Schmidt. Ripon cut the lead to two points on several different occasions, but weren't able to take the lead again, as Grinnell iced the game at the free throw line, shooting 83 percent (10-12) from the charity stripe in the second half.

Ripon had five players score in double figures, led by Paul Wise's career-high 30 points. Brown proved to be efficient, scoring 22 points on 11-of-12 shooting. David McMullen finished with 18 points, while Brian Schmitting scored 16 and grabbed 15 rebounds. Jonathan Murphy finished with 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting off the bench. The Red Hawks scored 96 points in the paint, while shooting 65 percent from the field.

Grotberg's 41 led the way for the Pioneers, as he hit 14-of-25 shots, including 10 three-pointers. Mike Schmidt finished with 18 points on 5-of-7 shooting from downtown, while Long chipped in with 16. David Arseneault set up his teammates on several occasions, finishing the game with 14 assists, to go along with his nine points. Grinnell finished 21-for-58 (40%) from three-point range on the night.

Ripon won't have much time to rest their legs, as they'll be back in action Saturday afternoon against Lake Forest. This will be a rematch of last weekend's 73-72 Red Hawk victory. Saturday's tipoff is set for 4:00 and will be preceded by the women's contest with the Foresters.