The Grinnell Pioneers men's basketball team represents the

Grinnell College Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College. Grinnell has the fifth highest endowment-to-stu ...

, located in

Grinnell, Iowa Grinnell is a city in Poweshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 9,564 at the time of the 2020 census. It is best known for being the home of Grinnell College. History Grinnell was founded by settlers from New England who we ...

, in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

competition.

History

Missouri Valley Conference

Grinnell was a member of the

Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MVIAA) was a college athletic conference and the second college conference formed upon its foundation on January 12, 1907.David A. Campaigne and John R. Thelin, "Big Twelve Conference", in ...

from 1919 though 1928 when it split in two. It would ultimately stay in what was renamed the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...

2005–present

In February 2005, Grinnell became the first Division III school featured in a regular season basketball game by the ESPN network family in 30 years when it faced off against the Beloit Buccaneers on

ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%). ESPN2 was initially fo ...

. Grinnell lost 86-85. Grinnell College's basketball team attracted ESPN due to the team's run and gun style of playing basketball, also known as the

Grinnell System The Grinnell System, sometimes referred to as The System, is a fast-tempo style of basketball developed by coach David Arseneault at Grinnell College. It is a variation of the run-and-gun system popularized by coach Paul Westhead at Loyola Marymo ...

. Coach Dave Arseneault's "system" incorporates a continual full-court press, a fast-paced offense, an emphasis on offensive rebounding, a barrage of three-point shots and substitutions of five players at a time every 35 to 40 seconds. This allows a higher average playing time for more players than the "starters" and suits the Division III goals of scholar-athletes. "The System" has been criticized for not teaching the principles of defense. However, under "The System," Grinnell has won three conference championships over the past ten years and have regularly placed in the top half of the conference. Arseneault's teams have set numerous NCAA scoring records and several individuals on the Grinnell team have led the nation in scoring or assists. On November 19, 2011 Grinnell player Griffin Lentsch set a Division III individual scoring record in a game against

Principia College Principia College (Principia or Prin) is a private liberal arts college in Elsah, Illinois. It was founded in 1912 by Mary Kimball Morgan with the purpose of "serving the Cause of Christian Science." "Although the College is not affiliated wit ...

. The 6-foot 4-inch guard scored 89 points, besting the old record of 77, also set by Pioneers player Jeff Clement in 1998. Lentsch made 27 of his 55 shots, including 15 three-pointers as Grinnell won the high-scoring game 145 to 97. On November 20, 2012 Grinnell's Jack Taylor broke Lentsch's scoring record—as well as the records for NCAA and collegiate scoring—in a 179–104 victory over Faith Baptist Bible. Taylor scored 138 points, besting the previous NCAA record of 113. Taylor scored 109 points in a November 2013 game against Crossroads College to become the first player in NCAA history to have two 100-point games. In December 2022, Grinnell set a NCAA record (in all divisions) for taking the most three-point shots at 111 attempts. Every attempted field goal was from beyond the three-point arc and Grinnell beat Emmaus Bible College, 124 to 67. For all the plaudits Grinnell receives for The System, leading the nation in scoring rarely translates into success against better quality opponents. In the twenty-first century, the team has won its conference championship a single time, in 2001. That was also the last time the team qualified for the NCAA Division III Tournament, where it lost by 41 in its first-round matchup.

Seasons

References

{{reflist, colwidth=30em

External links

Grinnell College Pioneers men's basketball websiteGrinnell Pioneers men's basketball records