Record-setting night for Grinnell

Fresh off two consecutive losses, Grinnell made the most out of its final out-of-conference game of the season, scoring a school-record 94 points in the first half on its way to a 150-90 victory over Principia College on Monday night. The Pioneers play their final 16 games against opponents from the Midwest Conference, beginning Wednesday night at home against Knox College.

Griffin Lentsch had another big outing, making 10 3-pointers and scoring 36 points, while Scott Kaitz had 13 assists. Grinnell (5-2) led 94-50 at the break, with its point total breaking the previous mark of 88, accomplished three times and most recently Nov. 23 against Faith Baptist.

The Pioneers led 73-44 with 3:13 left in the first 20 minutes before they closed on a 21-6 run. Matt Chalupa had a pair of 3s, Aaron Levin, Xander Strek and Jesse Ney each added one of their own, Lentsch got inside for a dunk, Matt Skelly made two free throws and Kaitz finished the half with a jumper right before the buzzer. Really, the outcome was all that was in doubt at that point.

Levin finished with 19 points, joined in double figures by Chalupa (15), Strek (11), Skelly (11) and Jack Adams (10), and Marques Valdez had a team-high four steals. Lentsch and Skelly got 15 minutes of playing time apiece, with 17 others getting on the court.

Here are The Formula stats:

- Attempted 103 shots (goal is 94)
- Attempted 71 3-pointers (goal is 47)
- Rebounded 54 percent of the misses on offense (goal is 33 percent)
- Forced 32 turnovers (goal is 32)
- Attempted 26 more shots than the Panthers (goal is 25)

That's 5-for-5 in goals for Grinnell, which almost always leads to victory. The 150 points is the most it has scored since it reached 163 in a victory over Fontbonne in the 2008-09 season. Hopefully, we haven't seen the last of this type of scoring.

Todd Zimmerman had 19 points for Principia (2-4).

As I said, the Pioneers stay at home to face MWC foe Knox on Wednesday night, with the opening tip scheduled for 8 p.m. EST. The best of luck to coach David Arseneault and his team.

Also Monday, a high school boys' team debuted with The System in fine fashion, as coach Chris Schultz and Deaborn (Mich.) Advanced Technology Academy beat Huron Valley Lutheran 71-36. Coach Schultz reports the amount of enthusiasm on the bench was the most he'd seen from his players. Good stuff.

Here are the numbers:

- Attempted 87 shots (goal is 80)
- Attempted 39 3-pointers (goal is 40)
- Rebounded 60 percent of the misses on offense (goal is 40 percent
- Forced 21 turnovers (goal is 26)
- Attempted 52 more shots than Huron Valley Lutheran

Obviously, the offensive rebounding tells the story. Nice effort for Coach Schultz's team in its first outing; the next one comes Wednesday. I plan to check back in with this team.

Tuesday figures to be a busy day for The System, with the NCAA Division II women's team at Glenville State and the NAIA women's team at Olivet Nazarene back in action, along with a host of high schools. I'm rooting for all of them!